The relationship between people and nature is one of the most important current issues of human survival. This circumstance makes it necessary to educate young people who are receptive to global challenges and ready to solve the urgent problems of our time. The purpose of the article is to analyze the experience of the environmental behavior of young people in the metropolis. The authors studied articles and monographs that contain Russian and international experience in the environmental behavior of citizens. The following factors determine people’s behavior: the cognitive capabilities of people who determine the understanding and perception of nature and the value-affective component that determines the attitude towards nature. The next task of the study is surveying young people through an online survey and its analysis. The research was realized in Ekaterinburg, the administrative center of the Sverdlovsk region (Russia). The study of the current ecological situation in Ekaterinburg made it possible to conclude that the environmental problem arises not only and not simply as a problem of environmental pollution and other negative influences of human economic activity. This problem grows into transforming the spontaneous impact of society on nature into a consciously, purposefully, systematically developing harmonious interaction with it. The study results showed that, from the point of view of the youth of Ekaterinburg, the city’s ecological situation is one of the most pressing problems. Despite minor improvements over the past 3–5 years, this problem has not lost relevance, and regional authorities and city residents should be responsible for its solution. Young people know environmental practices, but they often do not apply them systematically. Ecological behavior is encouraged and discussed among friends/acquaintances. The key factors influencing the formation of environmental behavior practices are the mass media and social networks. The most popular social network for obtaining information on ecological practices among young people is Instagram, and the key persons are bloggers. This study did not reveal the influence of the socio-demographic characteristics of young people on the application of eco-behavior practices, which may indicate the need for a survey of a larger sample.

The paper examines online learning as an innovative practice, the frequency of which has increased dra-matically during the pandemic. This caused signifi-cant changes in students’ assessment and percep-tion of online technologies, and also caused the formation of new fears in the context of digitaliza-tion of education. A comparative analysis of two stages of the survey of Ural Federal University stu-dents (2019, n = 150 and 2020, n = 70) made it possi-ble to demonstrate changes in the structure of mo-tives for refusing to use online education and in highlighting its significant shortcomings against the background of the pandemic. The main areas of growth of social fears of students in online learning are highlighted: social isolation, changes in re-quirements for the students themselves, the conse-quences of a sedentary lifestyle, a decrease in health potential, etc. The main field of activity of young people – education – becomes a source of growth of social fears and anxiety.

With the advance of technoscience, digital technologies have started to reshape the traditional array of social fears experienced by younger generations by triggering the appearance of new, digital fears. In this article, we undertake a sociological analysis to investigate the concept of digital fears both theoretically and empirically. Our survey conducted among Russian young people aged 18–30 in 2020 (N = 1050, Sverdlovsk region, Russian Federation) showed that fear is a distinctive characteristic of the social well-being of this generation. Moreover, fear tends to become more pronounced both quantitatively (i.e., the frequency of emergence) and qualitatively (i.e. the emergence of new types). The identified digital fears of young people allowed us to draw their typology. Depending on the specifics of digital threat, the following types were distinguished: those associated with impact and control, crime and security, communication and activity, technology and innovation, and social inequality. We show that the expanding range of social fears leads to the formation of catastrophic thinking in young people, thereby affecting the level of social well-being and distorting the image of the future.

Introduction. The attractiveness of the city as a place to live and fulfill needs becomes one of the determining factors for the intensification of territorial mobility among young people. The image of the city and the image of the “future” are closely related and interdependent in consciousness of young people. Megalopolis as a high-resource territory is a special space for the implementation of students’ life plans. Hence, it is important to pay special attention to students as a potential driver for the development of the territory (city, region, country), creating an attractive urban environment.Aim. Taking into account the results of a sociological study, the aims of the publication were the following: to analyse the attractiveness of the city, to characterise its place in the life planning of students and to determine the role in territorial movements.Methodology and research methods. The empirical basis of the study was a semi-standardised questionnaire for students of 3–4 courses at 9 universities in Ekaterinburg (n = 200), and in-depth interviews with students representing different types of orientations to territorial mobility (n = 8). Collected data were processed by means of a method of thematic networks.Results and scientific novelty. According to respondents, the factors, which provide comfort of life in the city, are considered; competitive advantages and shortcomings of the environment of the megalopolis are characterised; it is shown how its specific characteristics are reflected in vital plans of students. Two idealised ideas of the city as the place for life are allocated: 1) a “comfortable” city for everyday practices and open for innovations and creativity; 2) an “instrumental” city as the platform for career development and material welfare, which can be emotionally unattractive, but functionally effective. The factor constraining territorial mobility is the reproduction of social connections and relations in the current residence area; students view the movement as a type of risky behaviour. However, 42% of respondents include in their life plans a move to another city, located both in Russia and abroad. In the motivational structure of territorial mobility, the leading positions are occupied by the desire for independence, the idealised image of the city planned for life, and the discrepancy between the conditions of a particular city and the actual needs of the young generation. Hence, the strategic direction of planning and designing urban space is the increase in the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability of the territory. Administrative structures as the agents, initiating, introducing and regulating the complex strategy of increase in attractiveness of the territory, need to consider not only the territorial capital, which the megalopolis has, but also typical needs and interests of the target social groups, especially those related to the creative class.Practical significance. The presented materials and the authors’ conclusions can be used to determine the priority directions of the development of urban environment and intra-urban youth policy and to develop programmes for forming students’ competencies related to life planning and territorial mobility.

The article presents an analysis of online interactions among teenagers. The development of online communication is an important factor in the process of formation and reproduction of new social ties and relationships. Continuous online communication is becoming an important feature of everyday life. Online communication affects communication in general, developing its new requirements and standards. The polymetodic research consists of a questionnaire survey method and a content analysis method. The questionnaire was conducted among 50 teenagers aged 13-15, studying in schools of Ekaterinburg and regularly using the Internet to communicate with peers. A content analysis of online dialogs (n = 40) presented by the survey participants was also conducted. The research data proclaims social networks to be the most efficient tool of communication among modern teenagers. The most popular one is Vkontakte, which is used to chat and learn modern vocabulary. The daily routine, including the learning process, is the main topic of communication. Teenagers hardly change their speech behavior, since online and offline communication occurs mainly in the same reference groups. Teenagers also use audio-visual materials, emojis, stickers, etc., to complete their messages and express their emotional state. Keywords: online communication, teenagers, speech behavior, multimodality