Abstract: This article is dedicated to the results of sociological research conducted by the author to reveal the actual degree of development of the skills for the safe use of information technologies characteristic to modern Russian youth. The rapid development of information technologies and their progressive infiltration into social reality contribute escalate new risks and dangers. High activity of the representatives of Russian youth in using such technologies turns the into a risk group vulnerable to the threats of information society. Thus, the question of compliance with the rules of safe use of information technologies is extremely relevant among Russian youth. Over the recent years, this topic gained popularity within the Russian social science and humanities, but mainly on the theoretical level. The author introduces the data of the original research conducted among the youth of Yekaterinburg (N = 504) for empirical diagnostics of the development of their digital hygiene. This study indicated the controversy and development disparity of digital hygiene skills of the representatives of Russian youth. It was established that many of them perceive high Internet activity as a source of potential risks and declare a desire to comply with the rules to reduce such risks. However, the analysis demonstrates that their actual propensity to comply with the rules of safe use of information technologies is limited: some rules are observed by many, but other are often neglected. It implies that the process of development of digital hygiene skills among the representatives of Russian youth is yet not complete: despite the desire to reduce the risks associated with the use of information technologies, many of them are willing to observe only certain rules.

Abstract: This article discusses the peculiarities of the response of youth audience to coverage of relevant social problems in popular video blogs. The characteristic trend in the development of video blogs of recent years is the content that addresses socially significant problems, rather than carries entertaining connotation. The emergence of such trend raises the question of how the audience that is accustomed to view video blogs as the source of entertainment responds to such serious content. The author seeks the answer to this question by referring to the analysis of a specific case of reflecting the socially significant problem in a video blog – release of the film “HIV in Russia” on YouTube channel “Vdud”. The main results consists in revealing the specific features of the response of youth audience to the reflection of important social problems in video blogs. The analysis demonstrates that the reflection of such topics in video blogs may cause numerous curiosity among youth, which encourages young people to watch the corresponding video. Moreover, watching such video may form not only the basic representation of social problems, but also a desire of young people to learn more about such problems. The analysis also indicates that the effects of watching such content can be local and short-term: interest in new information vanishes quickly, rather than leads to serious changes in assessments and behavioral patterns of young people.

Abstract: This article carries a theoretical-methodological character. The key goal consists in the revision of theoretical-methodological approaches f social science and the humanities towards analyzing virtual social networks. The author notes that currently within social science and the humanities has formed a strong contradiction between the growing relevance of studying virtual social networks and the absence of viable conceptual foundation for conducting such studies. An attempt is made to overcome such contradiction by referring to the analysis of established vectors of research of the virtual social networks for the purpose of systematization of inherent to them substantive peculiarities. Methodologically, the article is based on the analysis of most cited and resonant theoretical works dedicated to examination of the virtual social networks, published in Russian and foreign sources prior to writing this article. The author concludes that at least four main directions can be determined in the context of relevant research on virtual social networks: socio-philosophical, socio-psychological, communicative, and utilitarian. Despite the fact that these directions do not contradict each other, they suggest different perspective of studying the virtual social networks; therefore, it is difficult to build a holistic representation on the essence of such networks. The scientific novelty of this work is defined by a rare attempt to systematize the relevant scientific approaches towards analyzing the virtual social networks, and proposal of the original classification of such approaches that has not been previously described in the scientific literature.

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the search of factors that intensify protest activity among youth in the modern Russian society. The relevance of research into this field is substantiated by the increase in real protest activity of Russian youth and its direct involvement into a number of resounding protests in 2017 and 2019. The author attempts to figure out the deep subcurrent of the increase of protest activity among young Russians. Polemicizing with the established research practice, the author formulates a hypothesis that the grounds for increase in protest activity of the Russian youth is created by not only external or institutional factors, but also internal experiences of the youth. The empirical base for this work became the questionnaire-based survey conducted by the author among the youth of Yekaterinburg just prior to 2019 large-scale protests that attracted a substantial number of young people. In the course of this study, it is underlined that the impulse for growth in protest activity among Russian youth can indeed be a product of internal experiences of its representatives. The main conclusion les in the thesis that the grounds for increase in protest activity of young Russians is largely created by their formation of a special political culture, raising their demands towards society and preparing the groundwork for growth of their dissatisfaction with the surrounding living conditions.

Abstract: The pivotal question of this work is the prospects of application of the “digital natives” theory developed by the American sociologist Marc Prensky in studying the modern Russian youth. In the course of the analysis of relevant statistical and sociological data, the author comes to a conclusion that potentially the theory of “digital natives” can quite accurately describe the specificities of mentality and behavior inherent to the Russian youth. A majority of the representatives of the modern Russian youth was growing up in the conditions of rapid digitalization of the society, and became accustomed to using the Internet very actively. Leaning on the data of the personally conducted sociological survey among the youth of Yekaterinburg (N = 1766; 18-24 years of age), the author aims to verify if this peculiar context of moving into adulthood affects their mentality and behavior, as well as to the representatives of modern youth show the evidence of “digital natives” described by M. Prensky. The key conclusion lies in the statement that the mentality and behavior of young people trace the qualities that accordant to M. Prensky’s theory should be characteristic to the “digital natives”. The research demonstrates the high intensity of Internet usage, versatility of Internet activity, and clear tendency to hedonistic practices. All of the aforementioned facts testify to the typical qualities of “digital natives”. The author not only revises M. Prensky’s theory of “digital natives”, but also describes a particular instance of its application for explaining the social processes. The research results may be valuable for the scholars interested in studying the impact of Internet upon social processes and behavioral practices of modern youth.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the analysis of the level of relevant protest sentiments common to youth in the context of stabilization of sociopolitical situation that emerged in the Russian society in 2018. The outburst of rebellious activity of the youth, which took place in 2017, has become resonant, but a short-term trend. The author assumes that the overall stabilization of sociopolitical situation that took place in the Russian society in 2017-2018, could affect the social well-being of the youth and lead to decrease in the actual level of their protest sentiments. Therefore, this article is dedicated to the verification of this hypothesis. The empirical base contains the youth polling conducted in Yekaterinburg in 2018 (N = 13), as well as the secondary analysis of data of the nationwide public opinion surveys. The main conclusion testifies to the fact that a year after protest actions of 2017, the protest sentiments of Russian youth became more moderate, but the potential for its reappearance remains. The overwhelming majority of youth does not expect the new protest actions and excludes their personal involvement into such events. On the other hand, the key feature of those young people, who expects the protest actions in their city yet today and speak of the personal readiness to participate in such actions, is the feeling of moral imperfection, and “inappropriateness” of the society. It is determined that the perception of Russian realities based on similar normative orientations, does not prevail among youth. But the mass distribution of such sentiments will create favorable environment for the new wave of rebellious behavior of the Russian youth.