An overwhelming majority of Internet users visit social networking sites, mainly Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki.
MOSCOW, June 23, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data describing how Russian Internet users assess the impact of the Internet on human life; what social networking sites they use most often; and what for they use smart phones connected to the Internet.
Most of users think that Internet does more good than harm to people. Sixty percent of respondents surfing the World Wide Web assess its impact positively citing such advantages as large volume of information, opportunities to communicate, etc. Those who think so are mainly residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg (84%), 18-24-year-old Russians (66%), and respondents with high income (69%). One-quarter of Internet users (25%) oppose them as they see more disadvantages such as harm to physical and mental health especially for the youngsters. Every tenth (10%) is confident that the Internet does not have any impact on human life.
<link wciom.ru/index.php;
Two-fifth of the Internet users (44%)</link> needs the World Wide Web to communicate with friends and relatives using chats, forums and social networking sites. The most visited social communication platforms are Vkontakte - 55% (51% in 2012) and Odnoklassniki - 54% (61% in 2012). At the same time, Vkontakte is mainly used by young audience (85% of those aged 18 - 24, and only 30% of those aged 45 - 59), whereas Odnoklassniki is popular among middle-aged respondents (59% of those aged 35 - 44), rather than among young Russians (48% of those aged 18 - 24).Every fifth (19%) visits MoiMir (blogs@Mail.Ru). Sixteen percent of respondents have accounts on Facebook. Eight percent of Russians use Instagram to upload and browse photos; 7% post on Twitter. Rarely Russians visit Livejournal (3%), Mamba.ru (3%), LiveInternet (2%), Moikrug etc. Only 15% of respondents surfing the Internet do not visit social networking sites. The share of such persons among 18-24-year-olds is only 2%; the share among elderly respondents is 28%. Those who are not interested in networking sites are mainly persons with low level of education (32%) and rural area residents (19%).
Vkontakte is the most popular mobile application; it is used by every fifth smart phone holder (18%). Odnoklassniki site is browsed by 6% of respondents; other social networking sites - by 6% of respondents. Seventeen percent of users prefer search engines. Every tenth communicate via Viber (10%) and WhatsApp (9%). Five percent of respondents use e-mail to send letters. Internet users also like maps and navigators (6%) as well as 2gis (3%). Four percent use Sberbank online service. Instagram and Skype are preferred by 3% of users (per each group). Respondents also mention game portals (3%), weather forecasts (2%); they download applications using Play Market (2%) and search for media files on YouTube (2%) etc.
The VCIOM opinion polls were conducted on March 21-22, June 6-7, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 communities in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.
In your opinion, what impact does the Internet have on human life? (closed-ended question one answer, % of Internet users) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 and more |
Rather positive; lots of good information; it helps solving problems, spanning boundaries when communicating with people | 60 | 66 | 60 | 57 | 59 | 57 |
Rather negative; it has a negative impact on physical and mental health, especially among children captivated by virtual reality | 25 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 21 |
No serious impact | 10 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 12 |
Don`t know | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
Do you visit social networking sites? If yes, which ones do you use? (closed-ended, any number of answers, % of Internet users) | ||
| 2012 | 2015 |
Vkontakte | 51 | 55 |
Odnoklassniki | 61 | 54 |
Moimir / Blogs@Mail.Ru | 26 | 19 |
15 | 16 | |
Instagram* | - | 8 |
8 | 7 | |
Livejournal | 3 | 3 |
Mamba.ru | 2 | 3 |
Moikrug | 4 | 2 |
LiveInternet | 2 | 2 |
Ya.ru | 5 | 1 |
MySpace | 1 | 1 |
LinkedIn* | - | 1 |
Blog.ru | 2 | <1 |
Others | 3 | 2 |
I do not use social networking sites | 17 | 15 |
Don`t know | 1 | 2 |
* In 2012, this answer option was absent.
If you have a smart phone, do you use any mobile applications? If yes, name them, please. (open-ended question, any number of answers, % of smart phones users) | |
| Total respondents |
Vkontakte | 18 |
Browser, search engines | 17 |
Viber | 10 |
9 | |
Odnoklassniki | 6 |
Other social networking sites (excluding Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki) | 6 |
Maps, navigators | 6 |
Yes, I use them but I cannot name them | 6 |
Mail service | 5 |
Sberbank online | 4 |
2gis | 3 |
3 | |
Skype | 3 |
Games | 3 |
Weather forecast | 3 |
Play Market | 2 |
YouTube | 2 |
Gosuslugi | 2 |
News | 2 |
Transport | 2 |
Avito | 1 |
Other messengers | 1 |
Online translators | 1 |
Other mobile bank apps | 1 |
Music apps | 1 |
Apps to read books | 1 |
Other | 7 |
None | 8 |
Don`t know | 23 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!