Media Influence on Youth Protest Behavior (Evidence from Protests Against "Shies" Landfill)

This study examines the possible impact of various types of digital media and social networks on the political and civic engagement of young people in Russia. The use of social and digital media has probably changed the way people interact and participate in various civic and political protests, especially among young people. Despite the large number of studies on youth participation in the protests and the role of digital technologies, there is still a knowledge gap. Some studies emphasize that the impact of social media has minor and indirect effects on the actual participation of young people in protests, but there are those who refute this fact, but there are not enough articles in scientific practice that look at the impact of both mass media and social media on the process of shaping attitudes directly towards a particular protest and the subsequent participation of young people in offline activities. The purpose of this work is to establish the specificity and role of traditional and new media in shaping the perception of the protest action against the construction of the Shies landfill among the participants and non-members of the protests. The design of the study consists of in-depth interviews and public opinion polls. The results will complement the knowledge about media use during long-term protests. In addition, the work investigates the regional specifics of media consumption by youth. Key words: protest, youth, digital media, social networks