Digital activity and literacy of youth in Tatarstan: digitalisation prospects the regional socio-economic development

. The study of digital activity and literacy of young people in the Republic of Tatarstan is based on the sociological analysis of Internet activity. The results revealed a high level of digital activity, but also noted a gap between this activity and self-assessed literacy. Young people show interest in various online spheres, with high competence in digital communication and content creation. However, the importance of improving digital security knowledge is emphasised. The findings could be key for the development of educational programmes, promoting the safe use of digital technologies in everyday life and relevant to interests in environment, energy and land sciences.


Introduction
Digital activity and digital literacy of young people play a crucial role in their successful integration into the socio-cultural and economic structure of society in today's rapidly developing information society, characterised by rapid technological progress and increasingly wide access to digital resources.The Republic of Tatarstan, as well as other regions of the Russian Federation, is not an exception to this global dynamic [1].The penetration of digital technologies into the everyday life of young residents of the region has a profound impact on their education, cultural environment, social interactions and employment opportunities [2].In this context, the study of digital activity and digital literacy of young people in the Republic of Tatarstan becomes a relevant and significant research area [3].
Understanding digital activity and digital literacy among young people requires a comprehensive study of the fundamental concepts underlying the information society [4].It is crucial to dissect these concepts in more detail in an era where digital technologies have permeated all aspects of modern life [5][6].
Digital activity encompasses the extent and nature of young people's participation in the digital environment.It goes beyond simply using the Internet to include interaction with social media platforms, mobile applications, online forums, and various digital tools [7].It is a multidimensional construct that includes not only the frequency and duration of online interactions, but also the goals, motivations, and patterns behind them [8].
In addition, it is important to consider the types of digital activities in which young people engage.These can range from passive content consumption (e.g., watching videos, scrolling through social media channels) to active forms of digital interaction such as content creation (e.g., blogging, video blogging, creating digital art), participating in online communities, or working together.on digital projects [9][10].
Digital activity also intersects with issues of privacy, security, and digital citizenship.Understanding how young people navigate digital spaces and address issues related to online safety, ethics, and responsible digital behaviour is integral to a holistic understanding of digital activity [11][12].
Digital literacy goes beyond the ability to operate digital devices or use software applications [13].It includes a multifaceted set of skills that enables young people to critically assess, navigate, and effectively use digital technologies.Digital literacy is the ability: -to assess the credibility and reliability of digital information sources; -to distinguish between different media formats and understand their impact; -to apply digital tools and resources to solve problems and innovate; -to demonstrate digital communication and collaboration skills; -to engage in ethical and responsible online behaviour, including respecting intellectual property rights and addressing issues such as cyberbullying [14,15].
Moreover, digital literacy should be considered in the context of lifelong learning.In a rapidly evolving digital environment, people must constantly adapt and acquire new digital skills to remain informed, competitive and engaged citizens [16,17].
Recognising the complex relationship between digital activities and digital literacy is crucial.Digital literacy empowers young people to make informed choices about their digital activities.Conversely, a variety of experiences from digital activities can enhance and strengthen digital literacy.For example, active participation in online communities can foster critical thinking, collaboration, and digital communication skills [17,18].
In addition, sociocultural, economic, and educational factors influence the relationship between digital engagement and digital literacy.Understanding how these factors shape the dynamics between young people's participation in digital spaces and their digital competence is central to our study [19].Delving deeper into these theoretical aspects, our study aims to offer a nuanced understanding of the digital landscape in the Republic of Tatarstan, shedding light on the complex interrelationships between digital engagement and digital literacy among young people.This integrated perspective will contribute to informing policy and educational strategies aimed at fostering digitally savvy and responsible young citizens in the digital age [20,21].The purpose of this study is to analyse the digital activity and digital literacy of young people in the Republic of Tatarstan through the prism of sociology.This study is based on the sociological survey "Sociological study of digital activity of residents of the Republic of Tatarstan".The data collected in the course of the study provide valuable information for assessing the level of digital activity and literacy of young people, identifying the features and trends of their digital behaviour, and determining the socio-cultural factors that influence the development of digital skills among the young population of Tatarstan.In this article we present the main findings of the sociological study, discuss the factors influencing the digital activity and literacy of young people, and consider the existing problems and opportunities for education and socio-cultural development among young residents of the Republic of Tatarstan in the era of digitalisation.

Materials and methods
This research is devoted to the study of digital activity and digital literacy among young people in the Republic of Tatarstan.Special attention is paid to the sociological dimension of this study.To achieve the objectives of the study, a cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted among the residents of the Republic of Tatarstan.The questionnaire has the following title -"Sociological study of digital activity of residents of the Republic of Tatarstan".A total of 1,554 responses were thoroughly compiled, representing a wide variety of population strata, including people of different age groups.It is noteworthy that among the collected responses 802 were contributions from young people aged 14 to 35, which is the main demographic focus of this study.
The study was conducted during March-April 2023.using a systematically designed structured questionnaire consisting of 48 questions.Respondents were male and female in age groups ranging from 14-17 years to 65 years and above, The wording of these queries was underpinned by a careful design approach to comprehensively reflect a wide range of topics related to digital engagement and literacy.These questions covered a variety of areas, including aspects such as internet usage patterns, digital device preferences, digital literacy self-assessment, social media interactions, attitudes towards digital safety, and use of online educational resources, among others.
To ensure the widest and most diverse coverage possible, the questionnaire was distributed through the Yandex Form online platform, known for its ability to create and distribute online questionnaires.Respondents were invited to participate in the study on a voluntary basis and obtaining informed consent was of paramount importance.This informed consent process was carefully organised to confirm participants' willingness to actively participate in the study.
From an extensive list of 48 questions, a subset of 14 questions was selected to be scrutinised in the context of this study.The selection criteria were inextricably linked to their direct relevance to the research objectives and their ability to provide meaningful insights into the digital behaviour and digital literacy levels of young people in the Republic of Tatarstan.These carefully selected questions, together with the corresponding answers, serve as the foundation on which the subsequent analytical part of this article is based.
The data obtained from the survey was carefully processed and thoroughly analysed using Microsoft 365 Excel.The main objective was to identify the prevailing trends, notable patterns of digital literacy and activity among the young population of the Republic of Tatarstan as one of the subjects of the Russian Federation.Taken together, this analytical work illuminates the multifaceted digital landscape that characterises the young people of the Russian region in question.

Results
Let us consider the results of young respondents' responses to a number of key questions of the survey "Sociological Study of Digital Activity of Residents of the Republic of Tatarstan".
Figure 1 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the questions "How do you assess the level of your digital activity?" and "How do you assess the level of your digital literacy?".The questions are closed, with the possibility to choose one answer option.Comparing self-assessment of digital activity and self-assessment of digital literacy of young people in Tatarstan, there is a significant difference between them.Thus, while more than 500 young people rate their level of digital activity as high, only about 400 respondents consider their level of digital literacy to be high.Accordingly, 350 young respondents rated their digital literacy at an average level, while only 237 young people rated their digital activity as average.It is important to note that significantly low numbers of respondents (less than 50 young people in all options) found it "Hard to answer" and rated both the level of their digital activity and the level of their digital literacy as low.
Figure 2 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the question "What channels do you regularly use to receive and spread information?".The question is closed, with the possibility to choose several answer options.Analysing the statistics of answers to this question, we can draw a general conclusion that young respondents from the Republic of Tatarstan, as one of the regions of Russia, predominantly use online channels and network tools to receive and disseminate information.Thus, social networks, messengers and video hosting sites are used by almost half of all young respondents -491 people.Together with online media and thematic websites, 79 % of respondents (798 respondents, i.e., 307 young people regularly use online media and thematic websites) use online channels to receive and disseminate information.Even in aggregate, non-network channels of receiving and disseminating information are used by significantly fewer respondents than, for example, social networks, messengers and video hosting.Thus, TV channels are regularly used by 14% of people, radio stations -3%, print media -2%.
Figure 3 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the question "For what purposes do you access the Internet?".The question is closed, with the possibility to choose several answer options.In general, the distribution of answers due to the possibility of choosing several answer options turned out to be relatively even.Among young people in Tatarstan, the most popular purpose of visiting the Internet is communication (662 answers, 19% among the answers to this question).Further, by the level of demand, the purposes of visiting the Internet can be divided into two groups.The first group includes education (616 answers, 17%), entertainment and recreation (554 answers, 16%), purchase of goods and services (529 answers, 15%).The second group includes the following answers: news and analytics (415 answers, 12%), work and business (411 answers, 11%), creativity (340 answers, 9%).The results of answers to this question show that young people predominantly surf the web for the purpose of online communication, education and entertainment.
Figure 4 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the question "In what areas do you most often search for information on the Internet?"according to the first half of the answer options (by popularity).The question is closed, with the possibility to choose several answer options.In the analytical diagram of respondents' choice of the first (in terms of popularity) half of the answer options to the question about the directions of web surfing, we can see that mostly young people are primarily looking for information in two somewhat opposite directions -on the one hand, entertainment and hobbies (530 respondents), and on the other hand, science and education (471 respondents).More than 300 young people are interested in culture, art and creativity (351 respondents), economics and finance (325 respondents), politics, state and municipal administration (304 respondents).The first most popular among the respondents in the half of the answer options to the question about the preferred directions of information search is followed by such area as engineering and technology (269 respondents).
Figure 5 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the question "In what areas do you most often search for information on the Internet?"for the second half of the answer options.The survey question is closed, with the possibility to choose several answer options.According to the analytical diagram of respondents' choice of the second (in terms of popularity) half of the answer options to the question about the directions of web surfing, it is possible to see that mostly young people are primarily looking for information in such directions as sports and physical education (262 respondents).Also, more than 200 young people chose information search directions such as information technology (238 respondents), medicine and health (207 respondents).More than 100 young people regularly include web surfing as a search direction such as journalism and media.An equal number of young respondents (68 respondents) selected answer options such as ecology and agriculture, Figure 6 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the question "How often do you use the following online services?".The question is closed-ended, with a scale rating for each of several answer options.We see in the analytical diagram that the highest user rate among young people when using such group of online services as marketplaces (frequently -535 respondents).Two groups of online services -cloud data storage and related offerings (412 respondents) and taxi services (431 respondents) -are next in the frequency of use ranking.Over 300 young people frequently use online services such as video conferencing services (312 respondents) and food delivery (303 respondents).Online service groups such as adverts services (238 respondents) and services using artificial intelligence (274 respondents) are frequently used by fewer than 300 but over 200 young people.
Figure 7 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate your level of competence in interaction and communication in the digital environment?"taking into account their answers to the control question "With which services can one user send images and videos to another user?"The main question is closed-ended, with the possibility to choose one answer option.The supplementary question is closedended, with the possibility to choose more than one answer option.First of all, it should be noted that there were such answer options for the control question as "WhatsApp", "2GIS", "Odnoklassniki", "LitRes", "DomClick", "Telegram", "Vkontakte", "Gosuslugi", "Hard to answer", among which the answer options "WhatsApp", "Odnoklassniki", "Telegram", "Vkontakte" are correct.From the analytical histogram we see that the level of their competence in the field of interaction and communication in the digital environment was assessed as high or More Likely high by 536 respondents, at the levels of average, "low" or "More Likely low" -only 245 respondents.At the same time, among the 536 respondents who rated their competence level as "high" or "More Likely high", only 320 people answered the control question correctly, and among the 245 respondents who rated their competence level as average, low or More Likely low, only 86 people answered the control question correctly.
Figure 8 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate your level of competency in digital content creation and distribution?",taking into account their answers to the control question "Which of the services presented are cloud storage services?".The main question is closed-ended, with the option to select one answer choice.The supplementary question is closed-ended, with the possibility to choose more than one answer option.First of all, we note that the control question had such answer options as "TamTam", "Cloud Mail ru", "Yandex Disk", "Skype", "Yandex Mail", "Google Drive", "OneDrive", "Google Chrome", "Hard to answer", among which "Cloud Mail ru", "Yandex Disk", "Yandex Mail", "Google Drive", "OneDrive" are correct.From the analytical histogram we see that the level of their competency in the field of creation and distribution of digital content was assessed as "high" or "More Likely" high by 435 respondents, at the levels of "average", "low" or "More Likely low" -366 respondents.At the same time, among the 435 respondents who rated their proficiency level as "high" or "More Likely high", only 211 people correctly answered the control question, and among the 366 respondents who rated their proficiency level as "average", "low" or "More Likely low", only 100 people correctly answered the control question.
Figure 9 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate your level of competency in ensuring your digital security?"taking into account their answers to the control question "What is two-factor authentication?"The main question is closed-ended, with the option to select one answer choice.The supplementary question is closed-ended, with one answer choice.
First of all, it should be noted that there were such answer options for the control question as "The user uses a second password to log in to an account in a digital service", "The user uses a code that the user receives by SMS or email after he/she has entered the login and password to their account in a digital service", "The user uses a code generated in a separate authenticator application when logging in to an account in a digital service", "A method of user identification to log in to a digital service that requires two different ways to confirm that he/she is the account owner" is the correct answer option, among which the answer option "A method of user identification to log in to a digital service that requires two different ways to confirm that he/she is the owner of the account", "It's hard to answer", among which the answer option "A method of user identification for logging into a digital service that requires two different ways of confirming that the user is the account owner" is correct.From the analytical histogram we see that 398 respondents rated their level of competence in the area of ensuring their digital security as high or More Likely high, while 403 respondents rated it at the levels of average, low or More Likely low.At the same time, among 398 respondents who rated their competence level as high or More Likely high, only 166 people answered the control question correctly, and among 403 respondents who rated their competence level as average, low or More Likely low, only 117 people answered the control question correctly.
Figure 10 shows the results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate your level of competence in digital problem solving?" taking into account their answers to the control question "Would you be willing to help people in your community find ready-made technological solutions on the Internet that could help them solve technical, personal or professional problems?".The main question is closed-ended, with the option to select one answer choice.The supplementary question is closed-ended, with the possibility to choose one answer option.
First of all, it should be noted that there were such answer options for the control question as "Yes", "More Likely Yes", "More Likely No", "No", and "Hard to answer", among which the answer options "Yes" and "More Likely Yes" are positive.From the analytical histogram we see that 379 respondents rated their level of competence in problem solving in the digital environment as "high" or "More Likely high", while 422 respondents rated their competence at the levels of "average", "low" or "More Likely low".At the same time, among the 379 respondents who rated their competence level as "high" or "More Likely high", only 125 people answered the control question positively, and among the 422 respondents who rated their competence level as "average", "low" or "More Likely low", only 57 people answered the control question positively.Fig. 10.Results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate your level of competency in digital problem solving?" taking into account their answers to the control question "Would you be willing to provide your friends and family with support in setting up and performing regular backups of data on their computers, as well as restoring data in case of loss or failure?".
Thus, the analysis results of young respondents' answers to 14 questions from the questionnaire "Sociological Survey of Digital Activity of Residents of the Republic of Tatarstan" characterise the nature and level of digital activity and digital literacy of young people in the Republic of Tatarstan.In general, the results of answers to these questions show that, in general, young people in the region under consideration are highly active in digital activities on the Internet, which coincides with the self-assessment of the level of digital activity as high.At the same time, judging by the correlation between the answers to the questions about the four levels of digital competence and the answers to the corresponding control questions, young people's competence in the areas of digital communication and creation/spread of information and content on the Internet is relatively high, while in the areas of ensuring their own digital security and solving problems in the digital environment it is relatively low.

Discussion
One promising area for future research is to examine the effectiveness of digital literacy interventions targeting different age groups in the Republic of Tatarstan.These interventions can be designed to improve critical digital skills such as information evaluation, online safety, and digital communication.Longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impact of such interventions on people's digital engagement and literacy levels can provide valuable insights.
Comparative studies of the Republic of Tatarstan and other regions or countries with different sociocultural backgrounds can shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities to improve digital literacy.Understanding how cultural factors influence the adoption of digital technologies and the development of digital literacy skills can help design culturally sensitive interventions.
Research on the state of the technology infrastructure in the Republic of Tatarstan is critical.Research could focus on assessing the availability and accessibility of digital tools and internet connectivity, especially in rural and underserved areas.Identifying gaps in access can help policymakers target investments to address these disparities and promote digital inclusion.
To emphasise the social importance of digital literacy, future research could dive deeper into the correlation between people's digital literacy levels and their socioeconomic status.Research on how the development of digital skills contributes to employment opportunities, income levels, and overall quality of life can provide compelling evidence on the importance of digital literacy initiatives.
Creating adapted educational resources and curricula that meet the specific needs and interests of the population of the Republic of Tatarstan is an area of research worth exploring.This includes the development of online courses, tutorials, and digital educational content that resonate with local culture and languages.
Finally, it is essential to understand the role of the public and private sectors in promoting digital literacy and engagement.Research can explore partnerships between government agencies, educational institutions, and technology companies to assess the effectiveness of collaborative initiatives to promote digital skills and participation.

Conclusions
Thus, within the framework of this study we have analysed the results of young respondents' answers to a number of key questions from the questionnaire survey "Sociological Study of Digital Activity of Residents of the Republic of Tatarstan".These questions characterise the level of digital activity and digital literacy of young people in the course of their various activities on the Internet.In the course of the analysis, we made a number of conclusions.Therefore, young respondents assess the level of their digital activity significantly higher than the level of their digital literacy.Most young people in Tatarstan search and disseminate information using online channels and tools (social networks, messengers, video hosting, online media, thematic websites).The top 5 most popular areas of information search on the Internet among young people are entertainment and hobbies, education and science, culture, art and creativity, economics and finance, politics, state and municipal administration.Most often young people use such online services as marketplaces, taxis, cloud services, slightly less often -food delivery services, video conferencing services.When analysing the correlation between the answers to the questions concerning the four different aspects of digital competence and the answers to the corresponding control questions, it can be seen that the level of young people's competence in the areas of digital communication and creation/spread of information and content on the Internet is relatively high.However, in the areas of ensuring their own digital security and solving problems in the digital environment, young people have a relatively low level of competence.

Fig. 1 .
Fig.1.Results of young respondents' answers to the questions "How do you assess the level of your digital activity?" and "How do you assess the level of your digital literacy?"

Fig. 2 .
Fig.2.Results of young respondents' answers to the question "What channels of receiving and spreading information do you use on a regular basis?"

Fig. 3 .
Fig.3.Results of young respondents' answers to the question "For what purposes do you access the Internet?"

Fig. 4 .
Fig. 4. Results of young respondents' answers to the question "In what areas do you most often search for information on the Internet?"per the first half of the answer options

Fig. 5 .
Fig. 5. Results of young respondents' answers to the question "In what areas do you most often search for information on the Internet?"-the second half of the answer options

Fig. 6 .
Fig. 6. Results of young respondents' answers to the question "How often do you use the following online services?"

Fig. 7 .
Fig. 7.Results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you assess the level of your competence in the field of interaction and communication in the digital environment?"taking into account their answers to the control question "With the help of which services can one user send images and video clips to another user?"

Fig. 8 .
Fig.8.Results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate the level of your competency in digital content creation and distribution?"taking into account their answers to the monitoring question "Which of the presented services are cloud data storages?"

Fig. 9 .
Fig.9.Results of young respondents' answers to the main question "How would you rate your level of competency in ensuring your digital security?"taking into account their answers to the monitoring question "What is two-factor authentication?"