Enero-Junio 2024
Vol. 14 No. 1
Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N
o
1 / enero-junio, 2024
211
Interacción y Perspectiva Dep. Legal pp 201002Z43506
Revista de Trabajo Social ISSN 2244-808X
Vol. 14 N
o
1 211-219 pp. Copyright © 2024
enero-junio
ARTÍCULO DE INVESTIGACIÓN
Socialización digital de los jóvenes: Cambios significativos en el contexto de
las transformaciones sistémicas globales *
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10456285
Maria Eflova **, Olga Maximova ***, Lyudmila Nagmatullina ****,
Vladimir Belyaev *****
Resumen
Se presentan los resultados de la investigación realizada en forma de encuesta masiva
en línea a jóvenes rusos en 2022. Se describen los aspectos de la socialización digital en
la correlación entre interacción virtual y real. Se presenta la distribución de las opiniones
de los jóvenes encuestados sobre el papel de las tecnologías digitales en sus vidas y
hasta qué punto estas tecnologías pueden sustituir los factores de la comunicación real,
"en vivo". Los autores concluyen que los jóvenes están dispuestos a interactuar
activamente en dos espacios, el digital y el real, lo que permite considerar el modelo de
socialización que los combina estrechamente como el más aceptable en la actualidad.
Palabras clave: socialización digital, comunicación, jóvenes, interacción virtual.
Abstract
Digital Socialization of Youth: Significant Changes in the Context of Global
Systemic Transformations
The results of the research conducted in the form of a mass online survey of Russian
youth in 2022 are presented. It describes the aspects of digital socialization in the
correlation between virtual and real interaction. The distribution of young respondents'
opinions about the role of digital technologies in their lives and the extent to which these
technologies can replace the factors of real, "live" communication is presented. The
authors conclude that young people are ready to actively interact in two spaces - digital
and real, which allows us to consider the model of socialization that closely combines
them as the most acceptable at present.
Keywords: digital socialization, communication, young people, virtual interaction.
Recibido: 20/06/23 Aceptado: 22/07/2023
* El estudio se realizó a expensas de una subvención asignada a la Universidad Federal de Kazán para la
ejecución del proyecto nº FZSM-2023-0022 "Socialización digital y competencia digital de los jóvenes en el
contexto de los cambios sistémicos globales: tecnologías reguladoras, riesgos, escenarios" en el marco de la
tarea estatal.
** Doctora en Sociología, Profesora del Departamento de Sociología General y Étnica, Universidad Federal de
Kazán, Kazán, Rusia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9573-2754 . E-mail: meflova@gmail.com
Eflova, Maximova et al/ Socialización digital de los jóvenes: Cambios significativos en el contexto de las
transformaciones sistémicas globales
212
*** PhD (Sociología), Profesora Asociada del Departamento de Sociología General y Étnica, Universidad
Federal de Kazán, Kazán, Rusia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4616-9488 . E-mail:
olga_max@list.ru
**** PhD (Sociología), Investigadora Principal del Departamento de Sociología General y Étnica, Universidad
Federal de Kazán, Kazán, Rusia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8681-8705 . E-mail:
nagmlk@yandex.ru
***** Doctor en Ciencias Políticas, Jefe del Departamento de Sociología, Ciencias Políticas y Gestión,
Universidad Técnica Nacional de Investigación de Kazán que lleva el nombre de A.N. Tupolev - KAI, Kazán,
Rusia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1625-772X . E-mail: vladimir.a.belyaev@mail.ru
1.- Introduction
At present, the domestic social environment, which is under the influence of large-
scale digitalization and global systemic changes caused by intensive technological and
geopolitical processes, determines meaningful changes and new specific features of the
process of socialization of young generations.
Realization of the special role and place of young people in society is associated with
the assessment and understanding of this social group as an organic part of modern
society. Young people bear a special function of responsibility for the continuity of history
and culture of society, the life of elders and reproduction of subsequent generations, and
ultimately - for the survival of peoples as cultural and historical communities, which is
irreplaceable by other social groups. The fulfillment of this role by young people is
impossible without scientific study of issues related to the identification and study of
mechanisms that shape their inclusion in the life of society.
"Youth is not a self-developing system, its life is conditioned by the existing socio-
economic and political conditions" (Rudenkin & Rudenkina, 2019: 44). Therefore, the
study of its socialization is always in the field of sociological science and is recognized as
timeless. This problematic is also relevant in the context of considering its digital aspect,
which allows researchers to focus their attention on such a form of youth socialization,
which in modern conditions of information society (Palfrey & Gasser, 2008) has received
a number of names close in meaning - "digital socialization", "Internet socialization",
"information socialization" or "cybersocialization" (Castells et al., 2007; Soldatova,
2018).
With the increasing speed of mastering the Internet environment by younger
generations, its increasing socializing influence on young people has become more and
more tangible. In the conditions of changing the bases and models of socialization under
the influence of new digital technologies, when "the Internet space is not a supplement
to the social reality familiar to young people from childhood, but initially becomes one
of the fundamental bases of this reality" (Maksimova et al., 2017: 1627), demonstrating
both positive and negative effects on young people, a regular, comprehensive analysis
of this complex process is necessary (Maximova et al., 2018). This circumstance dictated
the authors' appeal to the study of this issue and the definition of the research objective
to identify new trends and trends formed and traced in the process of socialization of
young generations, taking place under the influence of the digital environment.
Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N
o
1 / enero-junio, 2024
213
2.- Methods
The information base of the study was formed by the materials of a representative
sociological survey conducted in 2022 by a group of Russian scientists, with the
participation of the authors of the article, and a secondary analysis of the results of
research by scientists of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (JSC “VCIOM”).
The characteristics of respondents - representatives of the socio-demographic group
under study are as follows: student youth studying at school, colleges and universities,
aged 16 to 22 years, men - 37.6%, women - 62.4%. The sample size amounted to 1,100
people.
3.Results and discussion
Digital socialization continues to strengthen the influence of rapidly developing
information technologies on the process of assimilation of norms, values and patterns of
behavior by new generations. The two environments - real and virtual, of course, should
equally influence the process of socialization of young generations. However, in the
modern conditions of information society, this impact on young people, who with each
new generation demonstrate often more active passage of even primary socialization in
the Internet environment than under the influence of the institution of the family, can’t
always be regarded as equivalent, and often more shifted towards the recognition of the
digital world as a priority, its unlimited independence in the formation of norms and
values inherent in modern society. The depth of immersion in the digital space has
affected the social image of younger generations. This fact is confirmed by the results
of numerous studies conducted in the form of regular surveys by the Russian Public
Opinion Research Center, which are published in the form of extended data sets for
different years. Interpretation of these data makes it possible to catch the main trends
in the change of opinions and assessments of representatives of various social groups of
society regarding the issues of digitalization and artificial intelligence. Here are some of
them that allow us to form a collective portrait of today's young generations in terms of
their digital socialization.
Young people are active in using the Internet, moving various types of social
practices into its space and, according to the data of the “VCIOM” survey conducted in
March 2021, are ready to give up television in favor of the Internet. This behavioral
attitude is characteristic of 69% of young people aged 18 to 24 and 48% of 25-34-year-
olds (TASS, 2021). If we outline the range of activities that are realized by young people
using the Internet environment, it can include the following: using the Internet for work
or study, watching movies, reading books, using e-mail for correspondence, searching
for necessary information, getting information about events in the country and the world,
Eflova, Maximova et al/ Socialización digital de los jóvenes: Cambios significativos en el contexto de las
transformaciones sistémicas globales
214
communicating with friends in chat rooms, forums, social networks, searching for friends
and people close to their interests, blogging, playing computer games, shopping. This
list could be continued, which is not surprising, given that according to the same VCIOM,
71% of young people aged 18 to 24 years spend more than 4 hours on the Internet
every day, 41% of 25-34 years old do the same. At the same time, 26% of 18-24 years
old use the Internet daily, but spend less than 4 hours a day there, and 45% of 25-34
years old spend a similar amount of time on the Internet (TASS, 2021).
Compared to the results of our author's study, the structure of activities carried out by
young people in the digital environment has not undergone significant changes in the content
aspect, but has only been expanded by adding, along with those already mentioned, such
elements as "using electronic government services", "ordering a cab through a mobile
application", "doing sports online", and when using the Internet for entertainment purposes,
respondents also indicated "visiting online exhibitions" and "listening to music". Thus, the
comparison of the data from the two studies did not reveal any conceptual differences in the
configuration of the main types of behavioral practices implemented by representatives of
younger generations in the digital environment. The tendency to maintain online activity,
which has sharply increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the following areas: work,
study, use of e-services portal, online sports, was clearly highlighted. The period of the
coronavirus pandemic was an unforeseen factor that changed not only people's worldview,
but also radically transformed behavioral practices in the digital environment.
In modern conditions, young people feel dependence on the Internet to varying degrees
and differently realize the consequences of how much their usual life will change if the Internet
disappears. Thus, for 34% of the group of 18-24 years old, the fact of a complete change of
life and even their sincere misunderstanding of how they would perform everyday activities
without the Internet seemed inevitable. In the group of 25-34 years old this opinion is typical
for 19% of respondents. 41% and 45% of respondents (in the age groups of 18-24 years old
and 25-34 years old, respectively) believe that the disappearance of the Internet will
significantly change their lives, but they will be able to adapt. At the same time, for the group
with age characteristics from 18 to 24 years old (22%) it is typical to experience negative
feelings, depression and anxiety if they were without the Internet for a long period of time.
Among informants aged 25 to 35, only 9% experienced such feelings. But positive feelings,
joy, and relaxation in the absence of the Internet were equally experienced by both age groups
(7% of respondents, respectively). It is noteworthy that the category of young people from
25 to 34 years of age is more aware of the lack of catastrophic consequences in case of
an Internet outage - only 19% compared to 34% in the younger age group. Seniors are
less likely to experience negative feelings, depression and anxiety if they find themselves
without internet for a long period of time (9% vs. 22% in the 18-24 years old group).
The same group spent fewer hours on the Internet (41% and 71%, respectively, of those
who spent more than 4 hours on the Internet and 45% vs. 26% of those who used the
Internet less than 4 hours a day). This circumstance can be explained from the position
of greater involvement of representatives of the older age group of young people in the
realization of family and professional roles in the space of real social interactions, which
inevitably leads to a decrease in the time spent on the Internet.
Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N
o
1 / enero-junio, 2024
215
With the advent of the information society era, a fundamentally new quality of life
space has been formed, in which young people, being under the constant influence of
the digital environment and experiencing its inevitable impact, go through all stages of
socialization.
Despite the importance of the digital environment in the lives of young generations,
our research reveals that despite the diversity and diversity of information that young
people draw from the Internet space of news sites, forums, blogs, social networking
sites, conversations with relatives, friends, acquaintances, carried out in the process of
direct interpersonal interaction in the real social environment, are no less significant,
relevant, not rejected and also perceived as a source of information. And this aspect is
noted by 52.3% of our respondents, destroying stereotypes about the predominant
influence of the digital environment on the formation of social experience in modern
generations of young people, once again confirming the fact of "the long-standing
convergence of offline and online worlds" against the background of the formed everyday
digital reality (VCIOM, n.d.).
The entry of young people into the dynamic digital environment has opened new
opportunities for the development of communicative interaction, turned online
communication into an integral element of everyday life practice, determining the
specifics of socialization of young generations, but not excluding, at the same time,
interaction in the real social space. According to the author's research, young people are
still drawn to offline communication, establishing direct interpersonal communication
and contacts. According to the author's research, 61.6% of the surveyed youth
communicate "offline with people they met on the Internet" at different intervals, and
45.2% get acquainted with people who subscribe to similar online communities. This
position of respondents indicates that they cannot devalue the real social world, with its
specific forms and manifestations, laws and properties, before the new digital reality,
often perceived as a global absolute value, as well as the predicted future absence of
problems with adaptation in the social environment.
Young people come to the understanding that it is impossible to replace live, personal
and unmediated communication with online communication, which is noted in their
statements, pointing out that "Communication in real life is more valuable" and "It is
more pleasant to communicate in person", considering that "Communication via the
Internet is not the same at all" and expressing preferences - "I am for live
communication", "I prefer face-to-face communication more" and reflecting
meaningfully on the issues discussed in the topics, that "Internet communication is not
that at all" and expressing preferences - "I am for live communication", "I prefer more
personal communication", and reflecting on the issues of the discussed topic, expresses
emotionally colored judgment, summarizing - "Live communication is lost, online
communication is an ersatz of live communication, it will not replace it. And people have
become afraid to communicate live. This is bad." Indeed, the current opportunity to
implement various behavioral practices of virtual communication and to carry out active
interaction in two spaces - digital and real, allows us to consider the model of
socialization that closely combines them as the most acceptable at the moment.
Eflova, Maximova et al/ Socialización digital de los jóvenes: Cambios significativos en el contexto de las
transformaciones sistémicas globales
216
The successful process of socialization of an individual becomes possible in the case
of his active participation in socially significant activities, introduction to a new social
action and activation of individual initiative, allowing to consider him not as a passive
contemplator, but as a subject of social relations, capable of implementing system
solutions and giving impetus to development. The realization of civic initiatives at all
times testified to the absence of social indifference of young people to socially significant
processes. In modern conditions, the Internet space has become a platform for
expressing the civic activity of young generations.
The surveyed young people are oriented towards practical and active participation in
socially useful activities on the Internet. Therefore, answering the question, "Have you
had to initiate any collective actions in the last 2-3 years?" the following number of
respondents gave a positive answer: 37.4% of respondents "Solved someone else's
problem", supported the undertakings of others - 32.6%, they "Realized someone else's
idea, initiative", and 30.9% "Realized their own idea, initiative". Regarding the possibility
to "Solve problems in various spheres of our society through the activity of a large
number of people on the Internet" opinions were divided in the following numerical
combinations: 73.2% of respondents gave a positively colored answer with regard to
charity, 58.1% pointed to such an opportunity to solve problems in ecology, 51.9% - in
the sphere of education, for 51.6% of respondents such area was medicine, 51.3%
agreed that the activity of a large number of people in the Internet environment allows
to defend the rights and freedoms of citizens, as for the opportunity to solve problems
in the sphere of international politics, the respondents (56.7%) thought that activity in
the information space alone is not enough, with which, in principle, one cannot disagree.
The position on this issue is also strengthened by the clear confidence of respondents
that by participating in various kinds of civic activities on the Internet it is possible to
achieve the desired results and "attract more people to civic engagement", 60.5% of
respondents are sure of this. 74.1% of the respondents - the predominant part - are
firmly convinced of the possibility of the digital environment to "raise citizens' awareness
of society's problems", 45.2% believe that it is possible to "Solve society's problems by
influencing the authorities", and 40.1% believe that it is possible to "Form a strong civil
society". Initiative, energy of young people, positive behavioral practices of joint
cooperation, collective problem solving, implemented in the digital environment,
complemented by the conviction of young generations in the limitless possibilities of the
Internet and actively engaged by them in solving problems, contribute to the formation
of personal qualities with a system of value positions and attitudes, at a level that allows
us to talk about an actively ongoing process of socialization.
The open-ended question of the online questionnaire addressed to our respondents
regarding what they "had to do on the Internet in the last six months to a year" provided
the following answers: the interviewees can "Propose an initiative", "Apply to the online
offices of different agencies", "Discuss current issues", "Participate in discussions on
various topics", express their civic position by "participating in voting on political and
socially important issues", "Find assistance programs and like-minded people". The
interviewees are sure that the information field "Provides a platform for expressing one's
Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N
o
1 / enero-junio, 2024
217
opinion, informs about the events taking place in the country" and "there is an
opportunity to write a post on a social network that will be seen by thousands of people".
Thus, the digital environment as an effective, dynamic basis for socialization,
simultaneously integrates and stimulates various types of social activity of young people.
The mechanisms of social inheritance, social memory, mentality, refracting in
personal perception, characterize the process of socialization in many respects. For
example, Russian mentality has always been characterized by collectivity, with its special
form of solidarity, consolidation and cohesion, especially manifested in times of
challenges and threats.
The desire to find out the presence of the quality of collectivism in the system of
personal characteristics of young people was the reason for the inclusion in the online
questionnaire of the author's research of the question formulated as follows: "There are
people who are ready to unite with other people for any joint actions if their ideas and
interests coincide. And there are people who are not ready to unite with others for joint
actions, even if their ideas and interests coincide. To whom would you refer yourself?".
46.4% of the respondents convincingly answered that they consider themselves to be in
the group of those who are ready to unite, 16.8% - to those who are not ready to do so,
and 36.8% found it difficult to express their point of view on the question.
Despite the fact that among the respondents who were ready to unite in numerical
terms there was not an absolute percentage majority and among the respondents there
was a sufficient number of those who found it difficult to answer, the presence in the
answers of the desire to unite for joint actions, indicates such a vector of information
flow within the intergenerational transmission, which still contributes to the transmission
and inculcation of youth quality, which has an enduring value. And the dialog of
representatives of different generations is able to form their harmonious interaction, to
increase the value of intergenerational communications. All the more so, with public
opinion approving and the state supporting youth ideas and proposals, every second
respondent in a survey conducted by VCIOM believes that middle-aged people (51%)
should lead the projects initiated by young people rather than they themselves (VCIOM,
2022).
4.Conclusions
Young generations are coming to understand the role of collective efforts in solving
a significant number of tasks, and the Internet space with its possibilities is seen by
young people as an effective means of realizing civic engagement. Motivations that can
influence the decision to participate in online activities are often public goals, along with
undoubtedly present and personal interest. Therefore, when in one of the questions of
the questionnaire young people were asked to specify what could be the decisive
moment for their active participation in online activities, the answers that should be cited
as the most indicative of the expression of the respondents' civic position were received:
Eflova, Maximova et al/ Socialización digital de los jóvenes: Cambios significativos en el contexto de las
transformaciones sistémicas globales
218
"To achieve wide publicity of any problem", "The need to tell about their actions, to try
to get a reaction from the authorities and society", "The desire to highlight their
position", "Refuting false information", "The problem concerns my region, city", "The
problem is ignored by the official media". It is no less important that respondents do not
just limit themselves to discussing problems online, but with varying frequency, they
also "participate in events aimed at solving social problems that they learned about on
the Internet" (60.1%), which cannot but testify to a fairly high level of youth activity.
In general, it can be stated that the process of formation of values and strategies of
youth behavior, their decisions and actions, occurring under the influence of many
factors and affecting all aspects of life in modern society, is now largely determined by
how effectively it is held and organized in the digital space of socialization.
Bibliographic references
• Castells, M., Fernandez-Ardevol, M., Linchuan Qui, J., & Sey, A. (2007). Mobile
communication and society: A global perspective. London: MIT Press, pp.
331.
• Maksimova, O. A., Eflova, M. Iu., & Ermolaeva, P. O. (2017). “Digital
transformation as the factor of the generation dynamics in the information
society”. QUID-Investigacion Ciencia Y Tecnologia, 28, 1624-1629.
• Maximova, O. A., Eflova, M. Iu., & Kulcha, A. A. (2018). “The identity of the digital
generation of Russians: The impact of information and network resources”.
HELIX, 8 (6), 4628-4631. https://doi.org/10.29042/2018-4628-4631
• Palfrey, J., & Gasser, U. (2008). Born digital. Understanding the first
generation of digital natives. New York: Basic Books, pp. 375.
• Rudenkin, D. V., & Rudenkina, A. I. (2019). “Internet in the social reality of
modern Russian youth: Trends and risks”. Juvenis Scientia, 1, 43-48.
• Soldatova, G. U. (2018). “Tsifrovaya sotsializatsiya v kul'turno-istoricheskoy
paradigme: Izmenyayushchiysya rebenok v izmenyayushchemsya mire” [“Digital
socialization in the cultural-historical paradigm: A changing child in a changing
world”]. Sotsial'naya psikhologiya i obshchestvo, 9 (3), 71–80.
https://doi.org/10.17759/sps.2018090308
• TASS (2021, March 3). VTSIOM: Pochti 70% molodykh rossiyan otkazalis'
ot televideniya v pol'zu interneta [VCIOM: Almost 70% of young Russians
gave up television in favor of the Internet]. Available:
https://tass.ru/obschestvo/10823361?ysclid=lh1ufyui8f600154929&utm_source
=yandex.ru&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=yandex.ru&utm_referrer=y
andex.ru (accessed April 22, 2023).
Interacción y Perspectiva. Revista de Trabajo Social Vol. 14 N
o
1 / enero-junio, 2024
219
• VCIOM (n.d.). Rasshirennaya podborka dannykh VTSIOM k
tematicheskomu vypusku “Tsifrovizatsiya i iskusstvennyy intellekt” (No.
3) [Extended collection of VCIOM data for the thematic issue "Digitalization and
Artificial Intelligence" (No. 3). Available:
https://abcdwork.ru/docs/fileadmin/file/nauka/podborka/rasshirennaya_podbor
ka_dannyh_wciom_102020.pdf?ysclid=log1zdosb2747055302 (accessed April
22, 2023).
• VCIOM (2022). Obshchestvennaya aktivnost' molodezhi [Social activity of
young people]. Available: https://wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-
obzor/obshchestvennaja-aktivnost-molodezhi (date of reference 22.04.23).
