The article analyzes the concept of a social network as a special social structure consisting of nodes or actors (individuals, groups, companies), and the relationships between them. This concept is also used to denote an online service for communication, in which users can use their own identity or create something different from it, as well as keep in touch with people who are at long distances. It is found that a virtual social network is identical to the structure of society in the Internet space and has some characteristics and features: anonymity, autonomy, virtuality, which determine that in the Internet space social status does not determine the behavior of users in certain situations.