Social media discourse among youth in Russia: Between Western hegemonic ambitions and struggle for traditional values

Abstract

Due to the development of digital media and communication technologies, media culture has penetrated deeply into the daily practices of people around the world. However, regardless of globalization and other megatrends of our time, national values and priorities remain significant in the media space of each state. The purpose of this study was to analyze the publications of the most popular online communities among young people on the Russian social networking platforms Telegram and VK. In total, 1,134 publications posted in 2022 were studied. That was the period after the special military operation in Ukraine started, and in the midst of the Western countries’ economic sanctions imposition. The research method was content analysis and discourse analysis, which involved studying the content of the presented metanarratives, as well as their interpretation. Analyzing youth digital media culture, we can note its strong ideological overtones, reflecting the ideas, views and values that are enshrined in official documents and the public consciousness of Russians. Metanarratives serve the state strategic mission of the youth patriotic education.

Keywords

• metanarrative
• discourse
• ideology
• hegemony
• russia