Internet in the life of Russian youth

Background. The active development of information and communication technologies has led to the fact that the Internet has taken an important place in the daily life of a modern person. Today there is no such area of life of people where the capabilities of the Internet are not used. It plays a special role in the life of young people, largely replacing traditional social institutions – family, school, becoming, the main institution of socialization and the way to accumulate social capital. The use of the Internet greatly facilitates life and provides opportunities for quick acquisition of information and knowledge. It has become an educational and leisure platform, but the use of the Internet depends on individual requirements and goals. The purpose of the study is to analyze the influence of the Internet on the daily life of young people. Materials and methods. In order to study the role of the Internet in the era of digital technologies, to analyze the behavior of Internet users, primarily young people, we used the data of the author’s study conducted in 2022, a secondary analysis of sociological studies. Among the theoretical methods, systematic and comparative analysis were applied. Results. The main research directions in the framework of the analysis of the Internet impact on the lives of individuals are considered. On the basis of statistical data and materials of sociological research, an analysis was made of the behavior of Russians and young people on the Internet. The positive and negative factors of the influence of the Internet on the life and communication practices of modern youth are re-vealed. Conclusions. The article shows that for today’s youth, the Internet has become a new opportunity for education and job search, has changed the structure of leisure and entertainment, but at the same time has brought new problems and threats. The younger generation demonstrates a high degree of involvement in the Internet space. In this regard, young people today need to create a safe, but at the same time interesting and stimulating cyber environment, in which potential risks must be balanced with opportunities