MOSCOW, 27 January 2022. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a survey devoted to the attitudes of Russians towards kid vlogging.
One in five Russians have favorable views on children running their blogs, also run with parents (22%); 32% view it negatively; 40% are indifferent.
Most of Russians have heard of vlogs and channels run or hosted by children (76%). Four percent of young respondents aged 18-24 mentioned the Miss Katy and Mister Max channel.
Every tenth Russian experienced positive emotions when they learnt about seven-year-old Nastya Radzinskaya who is running her own YouTube blog and ranked sixth in the list of high-paying vloggers (11%); respondents called her “good girl” (10%) and were happy for the kid (9%). Thirty percent of Russians felt no emotions; 15% expressed negative emotions.
Kid vlogging: more good or harm?
According to 37% of Russians blog creation brings kids more harm than good. Thirty percent of respondents say it can be equally harmful and useful; every tenth Russian points to benefits (11%); the same number of respondents consider that it is neither beneficial nor harmful (11%).
Those who point to benefits mention learning and development (40%), communicative skills (19%), a means to earn money (17%), self-actualization and creativity (14%).
Those who emphasize negative impact of vlogging on youth point out absence of development and lack of study time (19%), broken mental health (12%), absence of normal childhood (9%), internet addiction (8%) and stardom (7%).
How often our children watch vlogs
A third of Russians have minor children under 18 (34%). Thirty-eight percent of parents surveyed report that their children watch vlogs on the Internet and on social media on a daily basis; 15%, at least once a week; 5%, several times a month. Thirty-eight percent of parents with minors say that their children do not watch video blogs.
Half of parents whose children watch video blogs view it negatively (53%); 33%, positively; every tenth parent is indifferent (11%).
Russian nationwide survey was conducted January 23, 2022. A total of 1,600 of Russians aged 18 and older took part in the survey. Results are based on telephone interviews. 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 is your view on children having online blogs including blogs run by parents? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Likely indifferent | 40 |
Likely negative | 32 |
Likely positive | 22 |
Don’t know | 5 |
Do you know any vlogs or channels run or hosted by kids? Can you give examples? (open-ended question, up to 5 answers, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Vlad A4 | 1 |
Danya Milokhin | 1 |
Miss Katy and Mr Max | 1 |
Other | 2 |
No/ I haven’t heard anything like that | 76 |
Don’t know | 19 |
What emotions did you have when you learned about a seven-year-old girl running her Youtube channel with her parents about her life? (open-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of total respondents; answers of at least 2% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Negative | 15 |
Positive | 11 |
“Good girl” | 10 |
Joy for this kid | 9 |
Indifference | 6 |
Surprise/confusion | 5 |
Calm reaction | 4 |
Pity for the kid/no childhood | 3 |
Admiration/delight | 2 |
Pride/respect | 2 |
Envy | 2 |
Horror/shock | 1 |
No emotions | 30 |
Don’t know | 10 |
In your opinion, does vlogging bring children more good or harm? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
More harm | 37 |
Good and harm equally | 30 |
More good | 11 |
Neither good nor harm | 11 |
Don’t know | 11 |
In your opinion, in what way can vlogging be helpful for kids? (open-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who point to more benefits) | |
| Total respondents |
Learning / education /development | 40 |
Communicative skills / communication | 19 |
A way to get money | 17 |
Self-actualization / creativity | 14 |
Socialization / growing-up | 9 |
Modern skills | 9 |
Self-confidence | 5 |
Acting skills / public speaking | 5 |
Gaming / it brings joy | 3 |
Independence | 3 |
Employment | 3 |
Purposefulness | 2 |
Viewpoint | 2 |
Deep studying of a topic | 2 |
Media attention, publicity | 1 |
Future planning | 1 |
Responsibility | 1 |
Motivating the audience | 1 |
Other | 1 |
Don’t know | 13 |
In your opinion, in what way can vlogging be harmful for kids? (open-ended question, up to 3 answers, % of those who point to more harm; answers of at least 2% of respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
No development / they do not read books / it distracts from studies / kids do not want to study / no time to study | 19 |
Mental disturbance / emotional state | 12 |
No normal childhood / kids should get outside, play games / early adulthood | 9 |
Too much time online / dependence on the Internet, gadgets | 8 |
Stardom / popularity / arrogance/inflated self-esteem | 7 |
No online censorship / too much wrong information online / abusive content | 7 |
High load / bloggings takes too much time / too little time on anything else | 6 |
They lose touch with the real world / they live in a virtual world | 5 |
Degradation / kids getting stupid | 4 |
No live communication / no socialization | 4 |
Harmful to health / vision loss | 4 |
Picking up wrong moral values / degeneracy | 4 |
Getting accustomed to easy money / they think that it is easy to make money / no desire to work | 4 |
Poor upbringing / overindulgence / pamperedness | 4 |
Social pressure / online bulling / negative comments / criticism / no personal boundaries | 3 |
Self-interest / money-making / pursuit of gain | 3 |
Kids should not do blogging and make money / it is not for children | 3 |
They put their life on display | 2 |
They are passive / they are not interested in anything but the internet | 2 |
Lack of adaptability in life / what happens to the kid in the future / they are not ready for the real life | 2 |
Other | 4 |
Don’t know | 16 |
Do you have minors (children under 18)? If you do, how old is your youngest child? (open-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
No minors / no children | 66 |
Yes | 34 |
Let’s talk about your youngest child. Does she/he watch video blogs on the Internet or on social media? If yes, how often? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who have minors) | |
| Total respondents |
Almost every day | 38 |
Several times a week | 14 |
Several times a month | 5 |
Occasionally but at last once every six months | 2 |
Never | 38 |
Don’t know | 3 |
What is your view on your child watching online vlogs on the Internet and on social media? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who have minors and those whose youngest child watches vlogs) | |
| Total respondents |
Likely negative | 53 |
Likely positive | 33 |
Likely indifferent | 11 |
Don’t know | 3 |