Prospects for the development of digital forms of political participation of generation Z in modern Russia

Abstract

The article considers the forms of political participation of generation Z in modern Russia and gives an assessment of the prospects for digital forms of this participation. The paper describes the characteristics that distinguish generation Z in terms of the influence of these characteristics on the political behavior of its representatives, as well as possible motives for the political participation of young people. The authors give the results of a study that allow you to get answers to the questions: what features make this or that form of political participation the most attractive for generation Z? Is generation Z really critical and negative about regime? Can digital forms of political participation become mainstream in the country’s political life thanks to youth and the rapid digitalization of society? The paper describes the criteria for the attractiveness of various forms of political participation, such as rallies, actions, demonstrations, strikes, hunger strikes, revolutions, elections, crowdfunding, written appeals to the authorities and petitions, participation in political movements and parties, meetings with political figures. These criteria are: personal safety, speed of implementation of the form, the ability to attract attention and find like-minded persons. According to the results of the study, the authors substantiate the conclusion about the prospects of using digital forms (in particular, online voting) of political participation, primarily due to the speed and security that distinguish digital forms of political participation from traditional ones: it is very convenient to express your civic position from anywhere in the world, while simultaneously doing other things and not fearing negative consequences for participation. In addition, digital forms of political participation are demanded by young people as the most convenient, as they are built into their “natural habitat” – the space of social networks.

Keywords

• digitalization
• elections
• generation z
• online election
• political participation
• rallies
• social media
• youth