The problem of choosing information sources (on the example of Kostanay region)

Abstract

This article discusses: the features of media consumption of the residents of the Kostanay region, priority channels for obtaining local and international news, the popularity of traditional and new media as sources of information. The main purpose of this study is to assess the impact of various types of media on the media space of the region. Moreover, the types of media are evaluated in several aspects at once, including through the prism of the struggle between the Internet and traditional media, TV and newspapers, competition between domestic and foreign media and between traditional and network sources of information. Data collection was carried out using a survey of respondents, both in traditional written form and online through a survey in the Google forms. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesis about the impact of demographic, geographical and historical factors on the very strong influence of the Russian media in the region, both through television and through the Internet, regardless of the level of development of digital technologies in the respondents' locality. But on the positive side, the age of the respondents is inversely correlated with the popularity of Russian media, and accordingly allows us to hope that the issue of information security will be less vulnerable in the future. This study can be a baseline for assessing the dynamics and changes in the media consumption of residents of the Kostanay region. Also, similar studies can be carried out in other regions of Kazakhstan to identify common trends or differences. Keywords: media consumption, mass communication, information security, digital literacy.