Online Media Environment as Russian «Good Life»: Consumption Aspect

Denis Dunas

National Association of Mass Media Researchers (NAMMI)Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of

JournalismResearcher

Moscow City as Media Hub• Increasing share of creative industries and media businesses in

the economy of the city • High level of audience fragmentation• Diversity of media consumption and communication models• Boost in media consumption, especially digital, as the main

form of leisure activity of Muscovites • Online technologies make possible specific ways of working,

living, and combining work with non-work activities and responsibilities

• Media consumption and communication is an instrument of social stratification

Table 1. Concept of the information city: key indicators (% of penetration)

PC at workplace (per 100 employee)

Source: Rosstat, 2014

Quality index of broadband Internet access in cities

Source: Ookla, Net Index, 2013-2014

Internet content flows in cities around the world, in January 2014, Mbit / s (upload / download)

Method• We have conducted an ethnographical research of several

Moscow households for the purpose of this paper. During a long period of time (about 1 year) we have observed, how family members or different individuals consume media. We posed questions, conducted interviews with the respondents.

• As a result we have distinguished 4 models of Moscow families and 2 models of lifestyles for individuals living alone. These models demonstrate the results of our survey and are very significant for the understanding of the nature of digital media consumption by people living in a big city. We observed 13 households in total

«Parents and Children» • In cases of deficit of media devices in a household each device has

its fixed owner;• Preference to old, instead of new channels of communication;• Communications by phone (stationary and mobile) as the most

widespread type of communication between family members);• Quickly lacking enthusiasm;• An obvious excess towards a digital content at younger generation,

an excess towards old media at the middle and the senior generation;

• No balance of media consumption between digital and non-digital content by different generations;

• Younger generation initializes the media activities by the senior and middle generations;

• No unified interpretation of messages of mass media;• No unified worldview

«All the Best to the Children»

• No realistic representation among parents about possibilities of device;

• An obvious excess towards a digital content at younger generation, an excess towards old media at the middle and the senior generation;

• No balance in media consumption between a digital and non-digital content on any of levels of generations of a family.

“Western European” type• The information agenda at all three levels of a family is

formed by consumption of both digital and non-digital content;

• An excess in media consumption towards a digital content at a younger generation;

• Balance of media consumption of digital and non-digital content at middle generation;

• An excess in media consumption towards old mass media at a senior generation;

• Domination of interest to political news online at middle and senior generation in comparison to the younger.

«Man vs. Women»• The authority of the man in a family is strong

enough: the woman doesn't aspire to initiate by herself communicative and media activity by means of digital devices;

• Media activity of the woman in a family is less or equal to the husband`s, despite of possible different situation at the work place;

• Media consumption in the given type of a family of the woman is in a stagnation stage;

• The man is an «opinion leader» and gatekeeper of the information stream. 

«Going Solo and Working Hard»

• Watching television during cooking and eating;• Reading business print newspapers at her

workplace;• Usage of gadgets primarily for business purposes;• No looking for a partner on the Internet;• No more than 15 minutes a day on social networks;• Meeting with friends in reality;• Opening for new meetings, events and traveling

Active Communication through Ipad

• Consuming mostly entertainment content, rarely news;

• Lacking developed skills of confident PC usage doesn’t prevent to use Ipad;

• Ipad usage can be universal (for listening to music, TV-content viewing, social networks);

• Usage of special applications, identifying the geolocation, on Ipad or Iphone when looking for a sex partner or a serious relationships.

Conclusions (1)• Experiences of each family or individual in the sample

is unique;• Within one family there are various gaps and divides.

They are connected not only with the age, gender, sociopolitical factors, but also with mental and behavioural factors, family and individual values;

• Frequently the younger generation is the one which initiates digital content consumption. This is a sign of close and cordial relations between generations in a family. The warmer relations in a family are, the higher is the digital media consumption at different levels of the generations;

Conclusions (2)

• Two determined types of media consumption by people, living alone, demonstrate, that on the one hand, media communication erases borders in life-work practices or the working sphere dominates the private sphere, on the other hand, media communication is an instrument for creating a private sphere, looking for a sex partners or strong relationships.