MOSCOW, 10 August 2023. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a survey on the use of social media platforms and messengers in Russia.
Time spent on social media…
Eighty-six percent of the Russians who use at least one social media platform or messenger* spend time there almost every day; the share of daily users among young persons aged 18-24 is close to the absolute value (92% of the18-24-year-olds; 94% of the 25-34-year-olds). Options related to communication and content watching are more popular than common everyday practices such as TV (50%), walks (48%), books (27%) or sports (15%).
Those who use social media and messengers with communication functions (VKontakte, WhatsApp, Telegram, Odnoklassniki, etc.) spend an average of 272 minutes (or 4.5 hours) a day**. This percentage is higher among young Russians aged 18-24: they spend an average of 493 minutes (or more than 8 hours) a day messaging, reading news feed, making calls and doing other activities.
VKontakte users spend most of the time online***– 129 minutes a day. This is followed by TikTok and Telegram – 125 and 123 minutes, respectively.
…and what kind of content we consume
News communities are at the top of the subscription list among Russian social media users (77%). This is followed by, with a huge gap, communities related to education (41%), humor (35%), entertainment (33%) and science (30%). A quarter of the respondents are subscribed to the communities about travelling (24%); every fifth, to the groups related to nature and pets (20%, each). The same percentage of users are fond of psychology and medicine (22% and 20% respectively).
Social media subscriptions are gender specific. Men are more interested in news (81% vs. 74% of women), science (41% vs. 22% of women) and sports (21% vs. 11% of women), whereas women tend to be interested in self-care (30% vs. 2% of men), psychology (30% vs. 12% of men), medicine (26% vs. 11% of men), pets (25% vs. 12% of men), child-rearing (18% vs. 5% of men), fashion and style (17% vs. 3%).
A messenger you know is worth two you don't know
Despite high popularity of social media and messengers, Russians have a cautious attitude towards new platforms: almost half of the respondents start using them as a last resort – for work and /or if recommended by relatives (51%). About a quarter of the Russians wait for the reviews from friends and public persons to be ready to register an account (28%). Most of them are young respondents (34% of the 18-24-year-olds; 35% of those aged 25-34 vs. 22-27% of those aged 35+).
The least numerous are those who are cautious and not ready to sign up with a new social media network under any circumstances (6%), as well as those who are open to anything new and curious about new platforms – they sign up without hesitation (5%). The findings reveal that the latter mainly belong to the youngest age cohort – respondents aged 18-24 (10%).
*Target audience is Russians who use at least one social network or messenger (app for messaging/calls).
** Average daily time spent on social media network/ messenger is based on a median value of a specific time period and the share of users who chose this time period. In minutes. Respondents were asked a question about regular use of 15 social media platforms and messengers with communication functions (VKontakte, WhatsApp, Telegram, Odnoklassniki, etc.) in advance.
*** Average daily time spent on social media network/ messenger is based on a median value of a specific time period and the share of users who chose this time period. In minutes.
VCIOM-Online all-Russian online survey was conducted 22-24 July, 2023. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and overtook part in the survey. Respondents selected through stratified random sample based on a probabilistic panel filled in an online questionnaire. Probabilistic panel participants are recruited in the course of Sputnik daily telephone survey (CATI method) based on a random sample of mobile telephone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted for socio-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.
Let’s take your typical week. How often do you do the following activities during this week: (closed-ended question, one answer for each answer option, % of total respondents) | |||||
| I spend time on social media/in messengers | I watch TV (on TV or on the Internet) – news, talk shows, TV series, cinema, etc. | I go for a walk in the fresh air | I read books and/or other literature | I do sports / exercise, do jogging, etc. |
Almost every day | 86 | 50 | 48 | 27 | 15 |
Several times a week | 10 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Once a week or less often | 4 | 16 | 18 | 32 | 26 |
Never/don’t know | 0 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 34 |
If you sum up your activities on social media / messengers such as messaging, reading news feed, making calls, watching videos and/or listening to music and so on how much time A DAY do you spend in… [social media that were chosen as the media used daily] (mean of sum of daily averages, in minutes) | |
| Minutes per day, average |
Sum of time spent a day on social media and messengers | 272 |
If you sum up your activities on social media / messengers such as messaging, reading news feed, making calls, watching videos and/or listening to music and so on how much time A DAY do you spend in: ( % of daily users of a specific social media platform/messenger; only social media platforms/messengers with communication functions, with a total daily audience of 3% and more) | |
| Minutes per day, average |
Vkontakte, VK messenger | 129 |
TikTok | 125 |
Telegram | 123 |
Odnoklassniki | 100 |
95 | |
86 | |
Viber | 57 |
What thematic groups or communities are you subscribed to on social media? (closed-ended question, any number of answers, % of total respondents) | |||
| Total | Men | Women |
News | 77 | 81 | 74 |
Education: language, history, etc. | 41 | 41 | 42 |
Humor: jokes, memes, etc. | 35 | 37 | 32 |
Entertainment – cinema, music | 33 | 32 | 33 |
Science | 30 | 41 | 22 |
Traveling | 24 | 21 | 27 |
Psychology | 22 | 12 | 30 |
Nature | 20 | 17 | 22 |
Medicine | 20 | 11 | 26 |
Pets | 20 | 12 | 25 |
Beauty and self-care | 18 | 2 | 30 |
Culture – modern and/or classical music, etc. | 17 | 13 | 20 |
Sports | 15 | 21 | 11 |
Children – education and development | 12 | 5 | 18 |
Fashion and style | 11 | 3 | 17 |
Social project and charities | 11 | 7 | 13 |
Environmental | 5 | 4 | 6 |
None of the above mentioned | 6 | 7 | 5 |
Don’t know | 3 | 3 | 2 |
When a new social network or messenger appears, how do you decide on whether to sign up or not? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) |
| ||||||||
| Total | Men | Women | Aged 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-59 | 60 + |
|
I sign up without hesitation; it's just interesting to try it | 5 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
|
First, I wait for reviews from my friends and relatives or public persons; if they recommend, I sign up | 28 | 26 | 30 | 34 | 35 | 22 | 27 | 27 |
|
I sign up only as a last resort - for work or if my relatives/friends insist | 51 | 50 | 51 | 41 | 46 | 57 | 56 | 46 |
|
Under no circumstances do I agree to sign up with a new social media network | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
|
Don’t know | 10 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 14 |
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