MOSCOW, February 3, 2021. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a survey describing the most popular types of communication and messengers in Russia.
Phone conversations, online chatting and face-to-face meetings are the three most popular types of communication in Russia over the recent two-three years.
The least popular communication channels are paper mail, e-mail and landline calls.
What types of communication do Russians prefer to talk to friends, family and co-workers?
Over the recent two-three months an overwhelming majority of Russians have used their mobile phones to communicate with friends and relatives (85%): most often women (77% vs 69%) and persons aged 45+ (90%-91%). Almost half of Russians chatted online (social media, messengers, etc.): mainly young people aged 18-34 (from 64% to 76%). Forty-seven percent of Russians preferred face-to-face meeting: they are basically young Russians aged 18-34 (56%-62%).
Every second respondent talked to parents via mobile phone (47%): basically men (50% vs 44% — women). Forty percent of Russians interacted with their parents online; a third of Russians say they do not communicate with their parents; they are most often women (34% vs 28% women).
Many Russians use mobile phones to talk to family and friends (79%); they are often women (83% vs 75% men) and respondents aged 45 + (85%-90%). Every second respondent met friends and family in person: they are often men (57% vs 49%). Forty percent of Russians chatted online with friends; mainly young respondents aged 18-34 (64%-67%).
Sixty-nine percent of Russians use mobile phones to talk to co-workers; 66% prefer face-to-face communication. One-third says they mainly communicate online (30%); half of the 18-24-year-olds say so.
WhatsАpp is the most popular messenger in Russia (73%). The top three most used messengers also include VKontakte (38%) and Viber (26%). Eighteen percent of Russians often use Telegram – they are often men (22% vs 15% women) and young Russians aged 18-24.
Young respondents aged 18-24 often chat via VKontakte (76%), Instagram (37%) and Telegram (34%). Russians aged 25 -34 opt for WhatsApp (84%) and VKontakte (52%). The 35-44-year-olds prefer Vkontakte and Viber, apart from WhatsApp. Persons aged 60+ use WhatsApp (59%) and Odnoklassniki (32%).
WhatsApp (70%), Viber (20%) and Skype (13%) are most often used for video calls; Facebook and Microsoft Teams are least popular (1%, each).
Russian nationwide VCIOM-Sputnik survey was conducted on January 28, 2021. Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,600 Russians aged 18 and older. Stratified dual-frame random sample based on a complete list of Russian landline and mobile phone numbers was used. The data were weighted according to selection probability and social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.
What types of communication have you used to talk to family, friends and co-workers over the recent two-three months? All possible answers (closed-ended question, any number of answers, % of total respondents) | ||||||
| Total respondents | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Mobile phone conversation | 85 | 69 | 77 | 84 | 91 | 90 |
Online chatting (messenger, social media, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 48 | 76 | 64 | 56 | 48 | 24 |
Personal contact in physical proximity, without any electronic devices | 47 | 62 | 56 | 53 | 46 | 35 |
Video conferencing (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 40 | 50 | 49 | 47 | 41 | 27 |
Texting (sms) | 22 | 28 | 28 | 20 | 20 | 18 |
E-mailing | 17 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 12 |
Landline phone calls | 15 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 22 |
Paper mail | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Other | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
Don’t know | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
What is the most popular way for you to communicate with your parents? You can give 2-3 answers (closed-ended question, up to 3 answers, any number of answers, % of total respondents) | |||
| Total respondents | Men | Women |
Mobile phone conversation | 47 | 50 | 44 |
Personal contact in physical proximity | 40 | 42 | 38 |
No contacts | 32 | 28 | 34 |
Online chatting (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 11 | 12 | 10 |
Videoconferencing (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 9 | 9 | 10 |
Landline phone calls | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Texting (sms) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Paper mail | 0 | 0 | 0 |
E-mailing | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Don’t know | 2 | 1 | 2 |
What is the most popular way for you to communicate with close friends? You can give 2-3 answers (closed-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of total respondents) | ||||||||
| Total respondents | Men | Women | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Mobile phone conversation | 79 | 75 | 83 | 46 | 73 | 80 | 85 | 90 |
Personal contact in physical proximity | 52 | 57 | 49 | 65 | 52 | 59 | 50 | 46 |
Online chatting (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 40 | 37 | 42 | 67 | 64 | 44 | 34 | 15 |
Videoconferencing (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 18 | 16 | 20 | 28 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 15 |
Texting (sms) | 9 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
Landline phone calls | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
E-mailing | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Paper mail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
I do not contact them | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Don’t know | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What is the most popular way for you to communicate with casual friends and acquaintances? You can give 2-3 answers (closed-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of total respondents) | ||||||||
| Total respondents | Men | Women | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Mobile phone conversation | 76 | 74 | 77 | 36 | 65 | 73 | 84 | 90 |
Personal contact in physical proximity | 44 | 49 | 40 | 40 | 36 | 47 | 44 | 48 |
Online chatting (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 37 | 36 | 38 | 74 | 53 | 46 | 30 | 13 |
Videoconferencing (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
Texting (sms) | 9 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Landline phone calls | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
E-mailing | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Paper mail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
I do not contact them | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Don’t know | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What is the most popular way for you to communicate with co-workers? You can give 2-3 answers? (closed-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who work) | ||||||||
| % of those who work | Men | Women | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
Mobile phone conversation | 69 | 74 | 64 | 39 | 67 | 70 | 74 | 77 |
Personal contact in physical proximity | 66 | 66 | 66 | 46 | 63 | 68 | 68 | 68 |
Online chatting (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 30 | 28 | 33 | 50 | 40 | 31 | 25 | 12 |
E-mailing | 17 | 15 | 19 | 9 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 16 |
Videoconferencing (social media, messengers, Skype, Zoom, etc.) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
Landline phone calls | 7 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 12 |
Texting (sms) | 5 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
Paper mail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
I do not contact them | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Don’t know | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What social media, messenger or program do you use most often to chat with people? You can give 2-3 answers (closed-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who have chatted online over the recent 2-3 months) | ||||||||
| % of those who have chatted online over the recent 2-3 months | Men | Women | Aged 18-24 | Aged 25-34 | Aged 35-44 | Aged 45-59 | Aged 60 + |
73 | 74 | 73 | 68 | 84 | 77 | 70 | 59 | |
Vkontakte | 38 | 38 | 39 | 76 | 52 | 28 | 25 | 17 |
Viber | 26 | 23 | 28 | 9 | 34 | 28 | 28 | 16 |
Telegram | 18 | 22 | 15 | 34 | 21 | 23 | 8 | 5 |
17 | 9 | 23 | 37 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 7 | |
Odnoklassniki | 17 | 13 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 28 | 32 |
6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 9 | |
Microsoft Teams /Teams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Zoom | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
TikTok | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
None | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
Other | 7 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 11 |
Don’t know | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
What social media, messenger or program do you use most often for video calls? (closed-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who have made video calls over the recent 2-3 months) | |
| % of those who have made video calls over the recent 2-3 months |
70 | |
Viber | 20 |
Skype (from ‘other’) | 13 |
Zoom | 8 |
Vkontakte | 6 |
Telegram | 3 |
3 | |
Odnoklassniki | 3 |
Facetime (from ‘other’) | 3 |
Microsoft Teams /Teams | 1 |
1 | |
None | 4 |
Other | 3 |
Don’t know | 3 |