The Image of the Social Future of the Young People in Industrial Region (in the Context of the Volgograd and Sverdlovsk Regions)

Abstract

The article analyzes the results of the study of the image of the social future of young people considered by the authors as a set of social expectations, ideals and ideas of the younger generation about the prospects of society as a whole and their own opportunities to be realized in it. The conclusions of the article are based on the results of a sociological survey of young people implemented by the authors in the period from May to August 2018 at the enterprises of two major industrial regions of Russia – the Volgograd and Sverdlovsk regions. More than 600 young employees of industrial enterprises (aged not older than 30 years) of high-tech sectors of the economy – engineering, rocket science, aircraft engineering, metallurgy industry and IT were interviewed by the survey method on the Google Form platform. A comparative analysis of the estimates of young people in these regions showed general trends in the formation of the image of the social future, typical for both regions, as well as regional features. The authors state that a significant part of young people in the studied regions, rather negatively assess the current situation in various social spheres and adheres to pessimistic attitudes about the possible social future. The study reveals that the youth of the Sverdlovsk region in comparison with the Volgograd youth critically assess the likely social future. Besides, divergence of expectations of the Sverdlovsk youth with its public ideal is recorded. The young people of the Volgograd region with a rather negative assessment of the situation, almost as critical as the youth of the Sverdlovsk region, expect favorable changes to a greater extent in the near future. Summarizing the results of the study the authors focus on the imbalance between the social ideal and social expectations of young people in industrial regions as a dangerous trend fraught with increased radicalism and protest moods among young people.