The UaNet Generation - An Exploratory Study of the Ukrainian Digital Landscape

This exploratory paper is part of a series examining the role of the Internet in the lives of youth living in Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States. This report focuses on Ukraine and is based on secondary evidence gathered through a desk review of relevant literature. The first section describes the technological context of Ukraine and the peculiarities of its digital landscape. The Internet in Ukraine provides a range of technological platforms to a population that exchanges overwhelmingly on Russian and western-based websites and very little on Ukrainian-based websites. The second section investigates the use of digital networked technologies by Ukrainian adolescents and young people, including social networking, emailing and file sharing. The third section discusses the types of safety risks faced by Ukrainian youth when navigating the Internet. Research shows that adolescent and young people are facing risks such as exposure to adult content, and chatting with strangers and meeting them offline. The study concludes with the assertion that as the opportunities associated with information and communication technologies rapidly expand for Ukrainian adolescents and young people, so too does the need to educate them on the safe and optimal use of Internet. Summary of Findings - Internet penetration grew from 3.75 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2010 - Stationary Internet is more popular than mobile Internet - There is a large amount of Russian and western influence on the Ukrainian Internet - The plurality of Ukrainian Internet users are young (14 to 24-years-old) and urban (Kyiv) - Social networking, emailing, and file sharing are the main activities for Ukrainian adolescents and young people - The most common online risk behaviour identified among Ukrainian adolescents and young people is meeting strangers offline - Ukrainian adolescents and young people are more often exposed to safety risks when using stationary Internet than they are on mobile Internet