THE CULT OF TECHNOLOGY AS A SOCIO-CULTURAL PHENOMENON

The aim of the study is to identify the signs of the cult in people's attitudes to technology (including digital) and analyze the factors that contribute to the formation of the cult of technology as a phenomenon of modern mass culture. Analysis of the results of the study showed that the manifestations of the phenomenon of the cult of technology in mass culture should be considered in combination with another phenomenon − the cult of the brand. After all, both of these cults are part of the cult of consumption. The sacralization of digital technology is indicated by the presence of basic elements characteristic of any religious system: from the ideology usually proclaimed by the "spiritual leader" − the founder of the technology brand, to ritual actions, sometimes even sacrificing their own body (sale of a kidney for the purchase of an iPhone, implantation of electronic chips, etc.). All these features of the cult, although they do not turn the cult of technology into a full-fledged religion, but indicate a high degree of readiness of people to join this cult, being exposed to other technologies − social. As a result, a socio-cultural phenomenon is formed, which combines the real achievements of science and technology with the mythologizing and sacralization of their perception by the minds of the mass consumer