Social risks in the youth environment: the experience of Russia and Poland

Abstract

Social media and messengers have become an integral part of young people’s lives. A person often falls under the influence of social media. A shared post has a considerable impact on its creator’s personality and relationship with others. Also, it can become the source of risk (hype, bullying). Open and accessible Internet services make young people and children vulnerable to information crimes. In view of this, social media presents an important field for risk-based research in education. The most outstanding and atrocious example of what cybercriminals are capable of is the suicide game ‘Blue Whale’. The research objective is to analyze the operating principles and mechanisms for the dissemination of destructive communities on social media websites drawing on the example of the community ‘Blue Whale’, popular in Russia and Poland in 2014-2017. Destructive communities on social media websites and personal accounts were analyzed with regard to data security. Media publications related to the activities of the ‘Blue Whale’ community from 2014 to 2017 were also studied. A key component in the analysis is the study of public opinion and the response of the education system to the activities of the ‘Blue Whale’ community. In one respect, the topic of ‘Blue Whale’ was viewed as a taboo. For a long time, society and the education system did not see the game as a threat. Thus, it quickly spread globally and led to tragic consequences. At the same time, social media websites were positioned as a networking place void of risks. This resulted in easily accessible information and low personal data protection level.