The dynamics of video preferences of the Russian youth (on the example of YouTube)

Today the Internet has become an integral part of the everyday life of the younger generation, and the YouTube video hosting is one of the most visited sites among Russians aged 18 to 34. Therefore, the analysis of content, structure, and dynamics of video preferences is an important area of sociological analysis of the Russian youth’s interests on YouTube. The research aims at identification and description of the Russian youth’s interests on the basis of the analysis of their video preferences on SHAPE * MERGEFORMAT YouTube. The authors conducted content analysis of Google’s annual reports on the most popular videos on YouTube in Russia, of the content of these videos and their comments, and the analysis of quantitative indicators (likes, dislikes and views). 26 Muscovites were questioned in the format of the semi-structured interview; and two online surveys (in 2019 and 2020) were conducted, in which 340 respondents participated. The authors identified three groups of factors to analyze the dynamics of video preferences: micro-social (social-psychological, status-role and needs factors); macro-social (institutional - social, political, economic, cultural - and environmental); random. The analysis of all types of research data on the most popular video clips allowed to describe the dynamics of the youth’s video preferences in 2008- 2020, to show the relationship of social factors with the dynamics of the youths’ YouTube preferences, and that these video preferences are largely determined by individual characteristics, because the significant events in the Russian social-cultural space have little influence on the youth’s video preferences.