Digital methods of analysis of subjective quality of life: case of Russian Regions

Abstract

The paper presents a method for measuring subjective quality of life in the regions of the Russian Federation on the basis of digital data. Information about online activity of users in the largest social media in Russia - VKontakte was taken as the data source. Quality of Life Index was calculated based on the obtained data. The results show that overall users tend to negatively assess the quality of life in their regions, with the highest estimates of the quality of life observed in the “ethnic” areas of the Russian Federation – republics, autonomous territories, districts and regions, first of all, in North Caucuses, Siberia and the Russian Far East. The lowest quality-of-life assessments of are noted in some regions in West Siberia. The paper analyses how the results of measuring quality of life with digital methods correlate with objective social-and-economic and demographic indicators of regional development. Several regularities for the “ethnic” areas are revealed while in other areas (regions, territories, cities of federal status) no significant correlations were established. The paper also gives a comparative analysis of quality of life assessments obtained through traditional questionnaire methods and digital methods.