Gender aspects of the gaming practices in the youth segment of the Russian computer games audience

In the last decade, all over the world and in Russia, in particular, there has been an active development of the computer games industry and an increase in the gaming audience, while an outstripping growth of the youth audience is recorded every year. The presentation of the realities of the gaming audience of computer games is fruitful, taking into account the gender characteristics accumulated in computer games. Against this background, in the scientifi c discourse, with a few exceptions, the problem of gender characteristics of gaming practices among the youth segment of the Russian audience of computer games is only sporadically objectifi ed. To study the gender characteristics of gaming inclusion and youth participation in gaming practices, an author’s sociological study was conducted using a questionnaire method, for which an author’s survey toolkit was developed. The target sample was 1700 people, the main selection criteria were: age (18–30 years), participation in the practice of computer games, country of residence (the Russian Federation). The survey was conducted anonymously in a digital format. The results of the survey in the youth segment of the Russian audience of computer games are presented. Based on the data of the study, The gender aspects of the gaming practices in the youth segment of the Russian computer games audience were analyzed considering the survey data. The study showed that today there is a tendency towards the feminization of the youth segment of the Russian computer games community, which destroys the stereotypes about the “masculinity” of this type of leisure activity. The data obtained made it possible to identify gender diff erences and similarities in the participation of gamers in gaming practices.