The shift in media consumption in Russia: overview of trends 2016-2021

Abstract

The Internet has become omnipresent in Russia due to the mass accessibility of smartphones. Paired with the fact that the representatives of the digital generation are reaching adulthood, the significant changes in media consumption have occurred over the past five years. It can be stated that progressive quantitative transformations have turned into a qualitative digital shift. The use of digital media is growing: the use of messengers in almost all age groups, social networks, search engines, online video services surpasses traditional media. In 2021, digital platforms took the top eight places in the ranking of media platforms by audience in Russia. At the same time, there is a decrease in TV viewing, the fragmentation of the audience is growing, and the YouTube has become the most popular video service in the country. Interest in reading newspapers, magazines, listening to radio is falling. In terms of the importance of news sources and trust in them, the Internet surpasses TV in all audiences. The study provides statistics that have not been published before. A comprehensive analysis of the identified trends in the development of digital media allowed to draw a conceptual conclusion about the qualitative shift in media consumption in Russia between 2016 and 2021: this timeframe is marked for the first time.