23 September 2021. VCIOM presents the findings of a survey among Russians devoted to popular sources of information and Internet use.
Sources of information |
Most of Russians get news about economy, politics and society in their country and region from central television (47%), social media and blogs (42%) and conversations with people (40%).
At the same time, the main sources of national news are television (42%, 11-19% of young respondents) and social media and online blogs (21%, 35-45% of young respondents).
Popularity of social media and messengers |
The most popular social media and messenger apps in Russia are WhatsApp (83%), YouTube (75%), Vkontakte (61%), Instagram (53%), and Telegram (42%). The same social media and messenger apps have the highest daily reach.
The users of social media and messenger apps do the following activities on these platforms (top three activities in each social media network and messenger app):
• Vkontakte users often socialize with friends (59%), look through photos, watch videos and listen to music (42%), and read entertaining content (30%);
• Odnoklassniki users most typically socialize with friends (70%), look through photos, videos and listen to music (37%), and get news about their country and region (19%);
• Facebook users most frequently socialize with friends (34%), get news about their country and region (27%), and read economic and political analysis (23%);
• Twitter users often read economic and political analysis (42%), get news about their country and region (33%), and read entertaining content (23%);
• YouTube audience most frequently watch videos and listen to music (51%), and read educational (37%) and entertaining (35%) content;
• Instagram users most typically look through photos, watch videos and listen to music (52%), socialize with friends (46%), and also read entertaining content (40%);
• Telegram users message their friends and acquaintances (50%), communicate for work purposes (34%), read economic and political analysis as well as educational content (25%, each);
• Viber users more often message friends and acquaintances (64%), communicate for work purposes (38%), watch photos, videos and listen to music (12%);
• WhatsApp users often message friends and acquaintances (81%), communicate for work purposes (46%) and take part in group chat discussions (18%);
• TikTok users often watch photos, videos and listen to music (58%), read entertaining content (43%), as well as get news about their country and region (13%).
Every third user of social media and messenger apps in Russia (29%) spends on them more than 3 hours a day (72% of the 18-24-year-olds); 16%, 2-3 hours; 25%, 1-2 hours; 19%, half an hour; 9%, less than half an hour a day.
Social media and messenger apps user are mostly interested in the following contents: national news and world news (49%), politics (42%), education and self-development (39%), humor (37%), and foods and recipes (36%).
Trust in domestic software |
When choosing between the Russian and the foreign software programs, 40% of Russians opt for domestic programs and apps; 18% prefer the foreign ones; 35% do not have any specific preference (41-50% among young persons).
Most of Russians (77%) consider that domestic software can compete with the foreign one (85% of the 18-24-year-olds); they are opposed by 12% of respondents.
Russian nationwide VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on September 20, 2021. A total of 1,600 of Russians aged 18 and older took part in the survey. Results are based on telephone interviews. Stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of Russian landline and mobile phone numbers was used. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.
How often do you keep up with news on economy, social and political life of your country and your region from the following sources? (open-ended question, one answer in each column, % of total respondents) | ||||
Often | Seldom | Never | Don’t know | |
Central television | 47 | 33 | 20 | 0 |
Social media and online blogs | 42 | 28 | 29 | 1 |
Conversations with people | 40 | 45 | 15 | 0 |
News, analytical, official websites | 36 | 32 | 32 | 0 |
Regional, local television | 31 | 38 | 31 | 0 |
Messenger apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, etc.) | 29 | 25 | 45 | 1 |
Central press | 20 | 38 | 41 | 1 |
Regional, local press | 20 | 38 | 41 | 1 |
Central radio | 14 | 22 | 64 | 0 |
Regional, local radio | 12 | 25 | 62 | 1 |
What is the main source of information for you about news and events in your country? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents ) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Television | 42 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 67 |
Internet - social media, blogs | 21 | 45 | 35 | 28 | 14 | 7 |
Internet – news, analytical, official websites | 20 | 28 | 25 | 27 | 21 | 10 |
Conversations with people | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Messenger apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, etc.) | 4 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Radio | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Newspapers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Magazines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
None of the above-mentioned | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Don’t know | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Do you use or not use the following social media networks and messenger apps? If you do, how often? (open-ended question, one answer in each column, % of Internet users) | |||||
Almost every day | Several times a week | Several times a month | Occasionally, but at least once every six months | Never | |
63 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 17 | |
YouTube | 39 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 25 |
33 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 47 | |
Vkontakte | 30 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 39 |
Telegram | 22 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 58 |
Viber | 20 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 58 |
Odnoklassniki | 13 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 60 |
TikTok | 13 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 68 |
5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 79 | |
3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 89 | |
People use social media platforms and messenger apps for different purposes. I am going to list several purposes. Please tell me whether you use social media networks and apps for this purpose or not. If you do, then what platforms do you use? ( closed-ended question, any number of answers in each line, % of Internet users and users of a particular social media platform) | |
| % of Internet users and users of a particular social media platform |
Vkontakte | |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 59 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 42 |
Reading entertaining content | 30 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 30 |
Reading educational content | 22 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 18 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 17 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 16 |
Searching for goods/services | 13 |
Participating in group discussions | 10 |
None of the above mentioned | 7 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Odnoklassniki | |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 70 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 37 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 19 |
Reading entertaining content | 19 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 19 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 11 |
Reading educational content | 11 |
None of the above mentioned | 10 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 8 |
Participating in group discussions | 8 |
Searching for goods/services | 8 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 34 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 27 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 23 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 22 |
None of the above mentioned | 21 |
Reading entertaining content | 19 |
Reading educational content | 18 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 16 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 12 |
Participating in group discussions | 8 |
Searching for goods/services | 5 |
Don’t know | 1 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 42 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 33 |
Reading entertaining content | 23 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 20 |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 18 |
None of the above mentioned | 18 |
Reading educational content | 13 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 8 |
Searching for goods/services | 4 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 4 |
Participating in group discussions | 4 |
Don’t know | 1 |
YouTube | |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 51 |
Reading educational content | 37 |
Reading entertaining content | 35 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 30 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 22 |
Searching for goods/services | 7 |
None of the above mentioned | 6 |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 5 |
Participating in group discussions | 4 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 4 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 3 |
Don’t know | 1 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 52 |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 46 |
Reading entertaining content | 40 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 34 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 32 |
Reading educational content | 28 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 20 |
Searching for goods/services | 20 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 15 |
Participating in group discussions | 12 |
None of the above mentioned | 4 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Telegram | |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 50 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 34 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 25 |
Reading educational content | 25 |
Reading entertaining content | 24 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 23 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 16 |
Participating in group discussions | 16 |
None of the above mentioned | 8 |
Searching for goods/services | 7 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 5 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Viber | |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 64 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 38 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 12 |
Participating in group discussions | 11 |
None of the above mentioned | 8 |
Reading educational content | 8 |
Reading entertaining content | 7 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 7 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 5 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 5 |
Searching for goods/services | 4 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 81 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 46 |
Participating in group discussions | 18 |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 16 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 8 |
Reading entertaining content | 8 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 7 |
Reading educational content | 6 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 5 |
Searching for goods/services | 5 |
None of the above mentioned | 2 |
Don’t know | 0 |
TikTok | |
Looking through photos, watching videos, listening to music | 58 |
Reading entertaining content | 43 |
Getting news about the life of the country and the region | 13 |
Reading educational content | 10 |
Messaging friends, acquaintances | 10 |
None of the above mentioned | 9 |
Reading political and economic analysis | 9 |
Posting my own updates, photos, audios | 7 |
Searching for goods/services | 5 |
Communicating for work (colleagues, clients) | 4 |
Participating in group discussions | 3 |
Don’t know | 0 |
What kind of thematic groups/communities are you interested in; what sort of information do you usually look through? ( closed-ended question, any number of answers, % of Internet users and social media users) | |
| % of Internet users and social media users |
National and world news | 49 |
Politics (government policies, presidential activities, activities of parties, the opposition) | 42 |
Education, self-development | 39 |
Humor | 37 |
Food, recipes | 36 |
Health | 32 |
Local communities (my city, district, etc.) | 29 |
Science, technology | 29 |
Art and culture | 28 |
Traveling | 28 |
Family, children, home | 27 |
Economy finance, business | 27 |
Sport | 27 |
Animals | 26 |
Professional communities | 22 |
Cars, motorbikes | 22 |
Shopping | 22 |
Psychology, motivation | 20 |
Fashion, style, beauty | 18 |
Student communities (university, school, etc.) | 18 |
Other (specify) | 7 |
None of these groups | 2 |
Don’t know | 1 |
Some people spend much time on social media and messenger apps; some do not. How much time do you usually spend on social media and messenger apps on the days you use them? Give an approximate time you spend there during one day. ( closed-ended question, one answer, % of Internet users and social media users) | ||||||
| % of Internet users and social media users | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Less than 30 min | 9 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 15 |
30 min-1 hour | 19 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 27 | 28 |
1-2 hours | 25 | 12 | 20 | 29 | 30 | 26 |
2-3 hours | 16 | 11 | 22 | 21 | 9 | 14 |
More than 3 hours | 29 | 72 | 40 | 23 | 17 | 15 |
It can be different | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Don’t know | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Today there are plenty of software programs and apps in the market. If you had to choose what software program or app to install to your PC or smartphone - the Russian one or the foreign one – which one would you choose? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Likely the Russian one | 40 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 49 | 59 |
Likely the foreign one | 18 | 37 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 4 |
It does not matter to me | 35 | 50 | 41 | 38 | 33 | 28 |
Don’t know | 7 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 |
In your opinion, can the Russian software programs and products compete with the foreign ones, or not? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Definitely yes | 34 | 30 | 28 | 38 | 41 | 30 |
Rather yes | 43 | 55 | 44 | 42 | 40 | 43 |
Rather not | 8 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 5 |
Definitely not | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
Don’t know | 11 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 18 |