Digital media preferences in late adolescence: challenges of online engagement and the importance of social support

15

Abstract

Context and relevance. The digital socialization of contemporary adolescents is a subject of considerable study interest owing to the profound integration of Internet technology into daily life. The relevance is due to the insufficient study of the links between preferred content, problems arising from the active use of the Internet and social networks, and the role of social support.
Objective. To determine the links between digital content and emerging problems in adolescents, as well as to identify the contribution of social support to reducing problems arising from online activity.
Methods and materials. The research involved a sample of 1239 Russian adolescents (42,7% male) aged 15–17 years from various areas of the Russian Federation. Questionnaires on digital parental mediation, peer perception, and social media usage were employed to evaluate favored themes in Internet and social network usage, as well as the severity of issues related to digital activity. Correlation, regression, and comparative analysis were employed.
Results. A hierarchy of content choices among teenagers was identified: entertainment content (humor, trends) is predominant, succeeded by instructional resources and sports. Girls show greater interest in educational and infotainment content but report greater severity of problems arising from digital activity. Parental and peer support mitigates the adverse consequences of online engagement, whereas parental control exacerbates issues.
Conclusions. The prevalence of entertainment material correlates with the severity of issues. The quality of peer interactions is more significant than parental mediation in mitigating the adverse impacts of internet use. Peer assistance mitigates compensating Internet usage. Parental assistance is more efficacious than control in mitigating issues.

General Information

Keywords: socialization, teenagers, social support, parental mediation, social networks, content

Journal rubric: Empirical Research

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/sps.2025160206

Funding. The study was supported by The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project FNRE-2024-0016 (Psychological effects of digitalization of the educational environment: opportunities for cognitive and personal development and risks of socialization).

Received 15.04.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Kornienko, D.S., Rudnova, N.A., Smirnova, Y.K., Kalimullin, A.M., Semenov, Y.I. (2025). Digital media preferences in late adolescence: challenges of online engagement and the importance of social support. Social Psychology and Society, 16(2), 78–95. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/sps.2025160206

© Kornienko D.S., Rudnova N.A., Smirnova Y.K., Kalimullin A.M., Semenov Y.I., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Dmitriy S. Kornienko, Doctor of Psychology, Senior Researcher, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6597-264X, e-mail: dscorney@mail.ru

Natalia A. Rudnova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Junior Research, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2063-2892, e-mail: rudnova.na@yandex.ru

Yana K. Smirnova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Associate Professor of the Department of General and Applied Psychology, Institute of Humanities, Altai State University, Barnaul, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5453-0144, e-mail: yana.smirnova@mail.ru

Aidar M. Kalimullin, Doctor of History, Professor, Director, Institute of Psychology and Education, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7788-7728, e-mail: kalimullin@yandex.ru

Yuri I. Semenov, Researcher, Scientific and Educational Center, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8766-3936, e-mail: yra_semen1109@mail.ru

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