Digital Socialization of Russian Adolescents: through the Prism of Comparison with Adolescents in 18 European Countries

Objective. Identification of common and specific patterns of digital socialization of Russian adolescents aged 12-17, compared with data from other European countries.
Background. The development of adolescents aged 12-17 is largely taking place in the context of digital socialization. Understanding of this context, especially in comparison with other European countries, is important to identify the opportunities and risks of this socialization, as well as targets for assistance.
Study design. The study was exploratory and comparative.
Participants. 1380 Russian adolescents (648 aged 12-14 and 732 aged 15-17; including 644 boys and 736 girls) from 15 regions of Russia belonging to 8 Federal Districts were compared with data from 16048 teenagers aged 12-17 years from 18 European countries.
Measurements. Adolescents filled scales assessing user activity on weekends and weekdays, the variety of online activities, signs of excessive user activity, digital competence, as well as experience of online risks. Results. The average user activity of adolescents was 4-5 hours on weekdays and 6-8 hours on weekends. Compared to 18 other European countries, Russian adolescents had one of the highest levels of user activity on weekdays in Europe and wide range of the content of activities online, while signs of excessive user activity were rare. However, Russia w­as among the three countries with the lowest rates of digital competence of adolescents. Comparing to other countries, Russian adolescents were more likely to report negative experiences online (49,6% versus an average European frequency of 32,4%), as well as experience of information about ways of causing physical harm to themselves and content that promotes excessive weight loss. As in other European countries, about 50% of Russian adolescents have seen sexual images online and met online acquaintances in person during the past year.
Conclusions. A significant part of the socialization of modern adolescents takes place online and depends on their activities, opportunities and risks on the Internet. Relevant tasks for Russian adolescents are the development of digital competence, as well as the prevention of the most frequent online risks and learning to cope with them.