👧 VCIOM Assesses Media Impact on Children's Personality Development

This is according to the results of a joint study conducted by the VCIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center) Analytics Center and the “Russia” National Center.

According to sociologists, 57% of Russians acknowledge that media products exert a noticeable influence on children’s identity. In terms of its impact on a child’s personality, consumed content trails only traditional institutions of socialization: parents (whose dominant role was noted by 68% of respondents) and the immediate social circle of friends and peers (61%).

The study revealed a deep divide between the actual landscape of children’s digital consumption and public perceptions of how the upbringing process should function.

• The Influence Factor: 43% of survey participants pointed to the real-world impact of bloggers, streamers, and online opinion leaders, a figure that significantly outpaces traditional educational institutions. For instance, the role of schools, teachers, educators, and sports coaches in current realities is recognized by only 31% of Russians.
• Loss of Ground: Notably, classical information channels and extended family ties are rapidly losing their educational and formative influence. Only 11% of respondents pointed to the impact of traditional media, just 7% noted the role of grandparents, and a critical low of 4% highlighted the influence of books.

“We are witnessing a seismic shift: the digital environment and horizontal ties within children’s communities have de facto intercepted the function of value transmission from schools and the older generation,” industry experts comment.

At the same time, the normative model of upbringing in the public consciousness remains conservative. When asked who should bear primary responsibility for shaping a child’s personality, the absolute majority (96%) predictably named parents. Respondents placed schools and educators in second place (69%), books in third (32%), and older relatives in fourth (26%). Meanwhile, only 16% of those polled are willing to assign an educational or formative function to content itself, and for bloggers, this figure drops to a symbolic 3%.

For the domestic media market, EdTech platforms, and game developers, the VCIOM data flags a critical marker. Today, the children’s content industry does not merely sell entertainment; it acts as a powerful institution of socialization competing directly with schools.

For distributors and producers, this translates into increased responsibility for the thematic and meaningful core of their releases. The high societal demand to restore the educational and formative function to traditional media (books, cinema)—juxtaposed against the actual dominance of blogging—shapes a long-term trend: the projects that successfully capture the attention of young audiences and win the trust of the parenting community will be those capable of packaging core social values into relevant, high-tech, and viral digital formats.