Strategies of Enlightenment and Pleasure: Competing in Media Consumption

An original concept of educational content consumption is presented, which was implemented in a study aimed at identifying Russian consumers' preferences regarding educational products in the era of infotainment. It was assumed that there are two consumer segments: those oriented towards education (followers of "Mr. First") and those oriented towards entertainment (followers of "Mr. Second"). To test this hypothesis, a nationwide online survey was conducted using the Anketolog online platform (693 respondents, of whom 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women, with an average age of 34.49 years, SD = 12.83), along with the original questionnaire "Enlightenment in the Era of Infotainment." Additionally, the following methods were used: G. Hofstede’s questionnaire for assessing value differences, the brief Big-Five personality questionnaire, and a question evaluating the level of personal agency (based on the concept of I.N. Emelyanova). The results showed that followers of "Mr. Second" exhibit low openness to new experiences, high anxiety, low organization, and low self-discipline. In contrast, followers of "Mr. First" are more curious, creative, and responsible. Differences in values were also identified: individuals inclined towards entertainment tend to be more individualistic and sensitive to uncertainty, whereas those committed to education are more oriented towards collective values and experience lower stress levels. In the groups with a high level of personal agency (those with intellectual-creative and pragmatic positions), the number of respondents oriented towards education (followers of "Mr. First") exceeds the number of entertainment-oriented individuals. Conversely, in the group with an imitative position (the lowest level of personal agency), entertainment-oriented individuals predominate in quantitative terms. The findings confirm the hypothesis of two consumer segments with distinct personality traits and value orientations, which can be used both for adapting educational programs and for providing recommendations to various media outlets.

The data used in this study is available in the dataset "Analysis of educational preferences of "Mr. First" and "Mr. Second", created by the authors, and posted at: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/HIje6QjZHyYnYQ

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