State censorship of the internet in the assessments of Russian youth: results of a sociological research

The central issue of the paper is the peculiarities of the attitude of Russian youth to the tough policy of the state aimed at limiting the dissemination of information on the Internet. The author notes the contradiction between the progressive tightening of the policy of the Russian state in the field of moderation of the Internet and the lack of a clear understanding of the specifics of the reaction that such a tightening causes in society. An analysis of the current scientific literature leads the author to the conclusion that the attitude of young people to the practices of introducing state censorship will largely affect the effectiveness of the functioning of such censorship. The negative attitude of young people towards state censorship of the Internet will hinder its functioning, while agreement with the need for its introduction, on the contrary, may become a favorable prerequisite for its development. Using the data of his own sociological research conducted among the youth of Ekaterinburg (N=504), the author analyses the actual moods that arise among the youth in connection with the prospect of introducing state censorship of the Internet. The key conclusion of the paper is that the Russian youth has a relatively positive attitude towards the introduction of state censorship of the Internet, which in many respects favors the real introduction of such censorship into the life of society. Although young people disagree and argue about the specific types of information that should be prohibited by the state censorship, the initial need for such a prohibition is more likely to be supported.