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Youth communities in social networks as a tool for organizing educational activities with students. Education & Pedagogy Journal. 2024;2(10):22-35. DOI:

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, and young people are among the most active groups on these platforms. The digital environment has significantly changed the form of communication. The study aims to identify the characteristics of content and initiatives within youth communities on social media platforms specifically designed to facilitate educational activities for students. Various online communication platforms such as VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Telegram, and YouTube were selected and analyzed for the study. The focus was on identifying formal youth communities, understanding their types, selection criteria, and the specifics of their formation. Based on expert interviews with deputy directors of educational work, educational consultants, and heads of schools and universities, several youth communities were found to share information about educational work with educational organizations through social networks. These include the Movement of the First (Russian children and youth leadership movement), the all-Russian public organization Russian Union of Youth, the all-Russian military-patriotic public children and youth movement Yunarmia, the all-Russian competition Big Break, the all-Russian public movement Volunteers of Victory, Mosvolonter, and the Young Traffic Inspectors of Russia. The article presents specific criteria for analyzing social network posts and then analyzes youth communities’ official websites and channels to identify their content and activities. It also presents a comparative analysis of the characteristics of youth communities on the VKontakte social network based on the developed criteria. The research revealed that VKontakte is the most popular social network among youth organizations. It serves as a primary resource for engaging participants in educational activities and acts as a platform for connecting community members from different regions. The Telegram messenger essentially copies the content of the other platforms. The main content is about the activities of these organizations, such as news about competitions, promotions, events, and posts about the activities of youth organizations. The article’s authors conclude that the social networks of youth organizations are professionally managed by different teams of specialists who adhere to individually recognizable styles of design and brand books. These networks offer various activities to organize educational work for students.

Keywords: social networks, educational work, content, youth communities, youth organizations, online communication, students