Youth Social Selfie: Social Strategies of Regional Youth

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the article is determined by the need for monitoring control of indicators and elements of social strategies of youth in the conditions of high social risks of the border region. The purpose of the article is to determine the typical social characteristics of regional young people based on key indicators of their social strategies. Materials and Methods. The article examines the results and analysis of the materials of the 2023 study conducted in the Belgorod region using an online survey of young people aged 14 to 35 years. The use of this method made it possible to cover a large number of respondents, including in hard-to-reach areas and settlements of the region, to ensure the representativeness of the sample. The study involved 5881 people (schoolchildren, students and working youth from the region). The purpose of the study was to determine the characteristics and indicators of the social strategies of young people. Results. The result of the study was a social portrait of regional youth based on key types of strategic dispositions and life plans for 12 social strategies. Key potentials were identified related to career ambitions, orientation to traditional family values, desire for education and self-development, attention to one’s own health, and the need for self-realization. Risks that could seriously damage to regional human capital were identified: economic infantilism combined with high economic aspirations, social passivity and political egocentrism, situational (selective) spirituality, increased migration potential (orientation to leave the region). Discussion and Conclusion. As a final conclusion, it is worth emphasizing the informational and analytical capabilities of the social portrait of regional youth based on social strategies: the features of the portrait allow us to determine the possibilities of future social investments of young people in the regions, to clarify the problems and deficiencies of socialization effects, and to formulate tasks to ensure the possibility of implementation of life plans of young people for state and municipal government bodies. The materials of the article may be in demand by state youth policy management bodies of various levels, state and municipal administration bodies, youth organizations and educational institutions.