Youth and social perspective: regional experience of studies

Population’s choice of value priorities depends on a complex set of factors, among which the attitude to social realm is one of the most important (economic, political, household activities, social institutions and inter-personal relations).The presence of the desire to change, the wiliness to understand, learn and adopt new social reality, the desire to become a key element of modernization processes is a hallmark of the younger generation. Experts agree that it is this feature that distinguishes young people from the “generation of fathers”. The article presents data of the study aimed at analyzing social characteristics of young people depending on the attitude to the layers of social perspective - present and future. To achieve this goal we set the following tasks: review of opinions on social reality prevalent in the modern literature, selection of value, psychological and other factors that form the picture of social reality and social time (case study of the Vologda Oblast youth). As a data base we use some results of the sociological research conducted in the third quarter of 2015 among the Vologda Oblast youth at the age of 18 - 29 to analyze socio-cultural characteristics of this socio-demographic category. The form of research is a door-to-door survey in the cities of Vologda and Cherepovets and in 8 districts (Babaevsky, Velikoustyugsky, Vozhegodsky, Gryazovetsky, Kirillovsky, Nikolsky, Sheksninsky and Tarnogsky). The study sample included 1,000 people aged 16 - 29 (population - 217,841 people). The sampling is purposeful and quoted. The sampling corresponds to the following parameters: place of residence, gender and age characteristics. The work analyzes views of young people with different modality towards the future about major social institutions - education, labor etc. We pay particular attention to the possibilities of solving the youth’ problems by fostering the social situation of success within the activity of civil society institutions. The paper concludes that the heterogeneity in estimates of the social perspective is a specific feature of the young generation. Social development of part of the youth requires construction of the situation of social success that, in general, could be a space for activity of civil society institutions. Public organizations and associations should use project methods and mentoring, partnerships mechanisms to conduct work in this area. The article proposes some recommendations for the implementation of this direction in educational institutions and workplace.