The Peculiarities of the Communicative Activity of Teenagers and Students in the Digital Social Environment

Abstract

Background. In the era of technological transformations, the conditions of social interaction are becoming more complex, which makes it necessary to study the communicative behavior of adolescents and young people in the digital social environment.

Objectives. The study had its purpose to investigate the peculiarities of the communicative activity of adolescents and students in the digital social environment.

Study Participants. A total of 318 people took part in the study: in 2022 — 156 pupils of secondary schools (35 boys and 121 girls) aged 16–17, in 2024 — 162 students of higher educational institutions (18 boys and 144 girls) aged 17 to 22 years.

Methods. The study was carried out in two stages over two years (2022–2024) by means of cross-sectional surveys and questionnaires. The survey provided data on the average daily screen time of participants' mobile electronic devices: the screen time over the past day, as well as the screen time spent on messengers and social networks Telegram, VKontakte and others.

Results. It has been established that the main communications in the digital social environment among students occur mainly in messengers and social networks. Communication trend is shifting to the Telegram messenger. The average daily screen time of teenagers and students on smartphones has increased significantly between 2022 and 2024, and among the total average daily screen time, the time share spent on social networks and messengers was also higher in 2024.

Conclusions. The study revealed certain differences in the communicative activity of adolescents and students in the 2022 and 2024 in two main directions. Firstly, the analysis of screen time indicates an increase in communicative activity mediated by the digital environment, which may indicate a decrease in the direct communicative component of communication. Secondly, there is a shift in the preferences when using instant messengers and social networks from communicating in various instant messengers and social networks in approximately equal shares in 2022 to the predominant use of the Telegram messenger in 2024.

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