The specifics of empirical studies of digital socialization based on the materials of the Russian Internet Development Fund

The article presents the overview of the empirical research on digital socialization of children, adolescents and young adults on the Internet Development Foundation materials. The publication activities of the Foundation in terms of methodological and empirical interest to the individual in the information society are focused on the problems of ensuring the safety of young Internet users, protecting them from illegal and aggressive content. The authors’ secondary analysis of primary data, obtained in the course of numerous empirical researches of Internet Development Fund, allows to make a conclusion, that one of the most discussed, disturbing and burning problems of information society is the problem of Internet addiction among postmillennials. It shows the multidimensionality of the scientifi c research in the context of socially important problems of Internet safety for young Internet users. The bibliographical description of the studies of cyberbullying, sexting, gaming addiction, technophobia is given. The conclusion about the necessity of sociological monitoring of the digital socialization process and the development of digital sociology is substantiated.