THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON THE FORMATION OF VALUE ORIENTATIONS AMONG RUSSIAN YOUTH

ABSTRACT

The text discusses the crucial role of youth as a valuable social resource for a country's economic development, emphasizing the need for the state to foster positive value orientations among young people. It highlights the transformative impact of the internet and social media on youth socialization, including the influence of various external forces such as fashion, trends, and opinion leaders. The text notes the lack of comprehensive quantitative data on these influences in Russia and calls for more research to understand the relationship between internet communication and youth values. Ultimately, it advocates for a balanced approach to harnessing the internet's potential while addressing its risks to ensure the healthy development of youth in society.

Keywords: Value Orientations, Digitalization, Socialization, Internet Influence.

Today, the state clearly understands that young people are one of the most important social resources for the country's economic development, and the value orientations of youth directly determine and will continue to determine the quality of life for all citizens in the long term. The state is interested in shaping adequate value orientations among the younger generation. However, it is important to recognize that young people are the most unstable demographic group, quickly susceptible to various external influences.

In the current era of global digitalization, which affects almost every aspect of human life, the internet has undoubtedly become one of the most influential resources. In the modern world, even the process of socialization among the younger generation is changing under the influence of the internet. As noted, "under the influence of the internet, the structure of leisure, traditional channels of information consumption, and the nature of interpersonal interactions are transforming." Researchers have yet to fully assess the depth of the internet's impact, as this remains a complex and ongoing challenge for sociologists. This uncertainty underscores the importance of conducting such studies.

Experts suggest that "the socialization of the younger generation is increasingly shaped by new actors that are nearly impossible to censor—namely, the internet and social media." Modern youth are a demographic group exposed to a multitude of influences: fashion, lifestyle trends, television, media, the internet, and more. Shifts in their value orientations and priorities could negatively impact the country's economic and political landscape, necessitating greater control over actors capable of distorting or altering the current values of young people.

Today, young people are influenced not only by extremist groups, cults, and scammers but also by so-called "opinion leaders"—bloggers, YouTubers, and public figures who actively use social media. It is crucial to understand how specific groups within the online space shape public opinion and foster particular values in the minds of young people.

Currently, Russia lacks precise quantitative statistics on the internet's impact on the formation of youth value orientations, despite numerous studies on the topic. The relationship between modern internet communications and value orientations is an important yet largely unexplored area in contemporary social science. The absence of clear sociological data on the issue does not mean it does not exist. There may be a need for expert assessments by psychologists to better interpret the findings.

The state must allocate more attention and resources to address this issue, as statistical data from this and other studies are unfortunately quite negative. While the internet can positively influence youth and public opinion by serving as a platform for self-realization and accessing information for work and education, young people are often more drawn to entertainment content than to these constructive uses.

In conclusion, the internet's dual role as both a tool for empowerment and a source of potential harm underscores the need for a balanced approach to understanding and managing its impact on the value orientations of Russian youth.

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