The article discusses the history of term «flaneur» origin. The author defines the «social flaneur» term. It is proved that the concept of marginal and social flaneur are not identical. The author presents a fundamentally new approach to the problem of «flaneurism» defining a complex phenomenon not as urban, but social. It displays the specific characteristics of «social flaneurism». The author argues that this term can be used to describe a particular phenomenon that emerged in the XXI century.