The image of the digital world and the perception of digitalization policy in the public consciousness of Russians

The modern world is rapidly transforming due to the development of digital technologies. As a result of digitalization, social relations in society are undergoing changes, the habitual way of life of a large part of the population is changing, which affects their perception of new technologies. In the Russian literature, there is a whole layer of research aimed at studying the attitude of the country's population to the processes of digitalization, at studying the factors of positive and negative attitudes towards technology. This study is devoted to the study of images of the digital world in the mass consciousness of the population, to identify public expectations and fears associated with the development and implementation of digital technologies in society, as well as the attitude of citizens to the state policy on digitalization of various spheres. As part of the project, 6 focus groups were held online with residents of three regions of Russia - Moscow, Irkutsk, Volgograd in different age categories. As the study showed, the digital world is poorly conceptualized in the public mind of the respondents. Respondents' perceptions of digital technologies are superficial and differ in different age groups. The respondents’ lack of a reflective view of digital technologies is also reflected in their assessments of the positive and negative aspects of digitalization. In general, in the worldview of respondents, digital technologies, first of all, are tools for improving the convenience and comfort of life. The actions of the authorities to transfer many public services and services online are evaluated mainly positively. However, the threat of total control of the population (by the state or large corporations) is the main fear associated with the digitalization process.