The Pressure of the Online Environment: Social Media Detox Practices among Young People in Russia

Recently, convenient and easy communication in social media has become firmly rooted in communication practices, especially among young people. Therefore, with the information saturation of the online environment and limitation of perception channels, the ideas of social media detox become especially relevant. This research is devoted to study social media detox practices among young residents of large cities and cities with a population of millions of people. To explain the paradox of conscious rejection of the usual and convenient way of communication in the modern world, an online survey was conducted among young people in Moscow and Cheboksary from 18 to 25 years old, who had experience of social media detox. The results of the study are: a comparison of social media addiction among young people of two types of cities, a comparison of motives to social media detox, and the identification of latent factors that determine motivation. Also, the classification of young people by the typology of social media detox practices is presented. This study is exploratory in nature, so future research may explore the phenomenon of social media detox to better understand the motives for detox, substantively examine the preference of detoxification methods and assess the practical importance of such practices.