In the context of the general digital transformation, the models of digital participation and citizen engagement are of not only applied, but also scientific interest. Digital participation as a phenomenon of modern society has become the subject of scientific analysis by representatives of various schools and trends. Today, it is the subject of interdisciplinary and international research, but in the context of sociological knowledge, the definition of theoretical and methodological foundations for its study, the definition of its substantive characteristics has heuristic potential. The purpose of the article is to identify the key features of digital participation as a type of communicative behavior in a hybrid reality, to characterize its essence and conditions for development. Methods and methodology. The conclusions and provisions of the article are based on the results of international and all-Russian studies. The approaches of M. Castells, J. Habermas, G. Lasswell, A.V. Tikhonov, V.S. Bogdanov, L.A. Vasilenko, N.N. Meshcheryakova, participatory theories were used as a theoretical and methodological basis. Results. The article analyzes modern theoretical approaches to digital participation, revealing the multidisciplinary nature of the phenomenon research. It is determined that the sociological approach to the study of digital participation requires a polyparadigmatic basis for the analysis of the essential changes in digitalization associated with the "modeling of hybrid infosocial systems". The author's definition of digital participation as a type of communicative behavior in the digital space is proposed. Digital participation has a subject-to-subject nature and manifests itself as digital participation, digital involvement and digital influence on the process of making and implementing management decisions. The essential characteristics of digital participation as a subject-to-subject form of communicative behavior in a hybrid reality are highlighted: mobility, efficiency, democracy, interactivity, emotionality. The key conditions for the development of digital participation are outlined: comprehensive accessibility and digital literacy. Conclusion. The development and constructive nature of digital participation as constructive communicative behavior in hybrid reality are provided by multidimensional communicative and information technologies of digital participation and involvement. The obtained conclusions and provisions lay the foundation for the development of an operational model of digital participation as a type of communicative behavior in the conditions of hybrid reality.
