Russians' Involvement in Information and Communication Technology Using and Intercultural Attitudes: The Role of On-Line Intra- and Inter-Ethnic friendships

The involvement of Russians in information and communication technologies using (IICTU) affects not only business relations and the search for information, but also friendly contacts in the online space. In this regard, it is important to understand the role of IICTU and on-line intra- and inter-ethnic friendships in the intercultural attitudes of residents of the multicultural Russian society. We conducted a socio-psychological survey in 2019–2020, the sample included 337 residents of eight regions of Russia. Using structural equation modeling and mediation analysis, we found that IICTU of Russians predicted the intensity of online intra- and inter-ethnic friendships. On-line inter-ethnic friendly contacts had a direct positive effect on the attitudes supporting multicultural ideology and social equality and a negative direct effect on the intolerance of Russians. The more intensively Russians communicate with inter-ethnic friends in the virtual space, the more significant their readiness to accept cultural diversity, social equality and tolerance. This result allows us to speak of a universal role of intercultural on-line friendships for positive intercultural attitudes. Additionally, such contacts mediated the relationship of IICTU with intercultural attitudes. Friendly intra-ethnic contacts in the network were positively associated with attitudes supporting both multicultural ideology and intolerance. We can say that the creation of networks that include representatives of only one ethnic group and intensive communication of its members can potentially contribute to the intolerance of Russians. In general, the results of the study showed the importance of developing virtual space for intercultural communication.