This article is devoted to the study of the experience of using information and communication tools of social networks in the process of teaching university students disciplines of the general humanitarian cycle in domestic and foreign works. The advantages and disadvantages of using social media technologies as an additional learning tool, the attitude of university teachers to this form of work, and the ethical components of communication between students and teachers are consistently considered. The authors analyzed the regulatory framework allowing the introduction of information and communication tools in the educational environment of higher education institutions in the Russian Federation. Along with this, the article provides arguments confirming the need to use individualization of the selection of means and forms of information and communication tools based on the specifics of the educational organization (its location, the composition of the student body and the teaching staff).