The 'Second Shift' Is Not Why Women Avoid News
Women are more likely than men to avoid political and economic news, but the reasons for this behaviour are linked less to structural inequality or family-related stress than to personal attitudes and the emotional perception of news content. This conclusion was reached by HSE researchers after analysing data from a large-scale survey of more than 10,000 residents across 61 regions of Russia. The study findings have been published in Woman in Russian Society.
News consumption is regarded as an important indicator of how people perceive the world around them. For some, regularly following the news is a way to stay informed about public life and better understand political and economic processes. Others believe it is sufficient to receive information through social media, where major news stories spread automatically. There is also a third strategy: deliberate avoidance of news, particularly coverage related to politics and economics.
The researchers hypothesised that women might be more likely to distance themselves from the news agenda because of structural factors. Academic literature often suggests that childcare, housekeeping, and providing emotional support to family members—the so-called 'second shift'—can limit the time and resources women have available for engaging with social and political information.
To test this hypothesis, researchers from HSE University analysed data from the 2024 survey ‘Research on COVID-19 in Russia’s Regions’ (RoCiRR). Although the survey primarily focused on the effects of the pandemic, the questionnaire also included a large section devoted to news consumption. The survey involved more than 10,000 respondents from 61 Russian regions and included questions about how often respondents read the news, their screen time, and a self-assessment of their media consumption habits. It also covered respondents’ marital status, employment, education, values, and levels of anxiety.
The analysis shows that women are indeed more likely to avoid political and economic news, but this is not directly linked to having children. Instead, the emotional perception of news content proves to be a much more significant factor: women are more likely to associate such news with anxiety and negative experiences. Having a partner, regardless of status, is associated with higher levels of news consumption, whereas full-time employment reduces the amount of time people generally devote to following the news.
Additional analysis reveals further patterns. Both men and women who adhere to more conservative values are, on average, more likely to distance themselves from the news agenda. In addition, individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to spend a large amount of time on consuming news. Anxiety shows a dual relationship: it is associated both with more frequent news exposure and with news avoidance.
Anastasia Kazun
'We had expected to find confirmation of the hypothesis regarding the impact of structural inequality, but no such effect was observed in the current Russian data. Moreover, we had assumed that individuals with higher education would follow the news more actively, as previous studies suggest that education can reduce the emotional costs of engaging with news content. However, the findings indicate that news avoidance is more of an individual strategy than a behaviour associated with any single social characteristic,' notes one of the study authors, Anastasia Kazun, Senior Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Studies in Economic Sociology.
The findings demonstrate that news consumption practices are shaped by a range of factors, from emotional state to personal values. According to the researchers, this suggests that media communication and public awareness strategies should take into account not only the socio-demographic characteristics of audiences, but also the psychological aspects of their engagement with news.
The study was conducted within the framework of the Basic Research Programme at HSE University.
See also:
HSE Scientists Train Neural Network to 'Hear' Faults in Electric Motors
Researchers at the AI and Digital Science Institute of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science have developed a new method—the Signature-Guided Data Augmentation (SGDA) framework—that achieves 99% accuracy in motor fault detection and 86% accuracy in fault classification. The application of this approach can reduce industrial equipment repair costs, minimise downtime, and improve production safety. The study results have been published in Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence.
Resource Race and Green Transition: Three Unexpected Conclusions from Foresight Centre’s Research on Climate and Poverty
Beneath the surface of green energy—which most people associate with solar panels, electric vehicles, and reduced CO2 emissions—lies a complex web of geopolitical interests, international inequality, and resource constraints. Researchers from the Laboratory for Science and Technology Studies (LST) at the HSE ISSEK Foresight Centre have published a series of articles in leading international journals on hidden and overt conflicts surrounding critically important metals and minerals, as well as related processes in the energy sector.
Immersion in Second Language Environment Influences Bilinguals’ Perception of Emotions
Researchers at the Cognitive Health and Intelligence Centre at the HSE Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience have discovered how bilingual individuals process emotional words in their native (first) and non-native (second) languages. It was found that the link between word meaning and bodily sensations is weaker in a second language than in a first language. However, the more a person is immersed in a language environment, the smaller this difference becomes. The article has been published in Language, Cognition and Neuroscience.
Researchers Find More Effective Approach to Revealing Majorana Zero Modes in Superconductors
An international team of researchers, including physicists from HSE MIEM, has demonstrated that nonmagnetic impurities can help more accurately reveal Majorana zero modes—quantum states considered promising building blocks for quantum computing. The researchers found that these impurities shift the energy levels that typically obscure the Majorana signal, while leaving the mode itself largely unaffected, thereby making its spectral peak more distinct. The study has been published in Research.
New Development by HSE Scientists Helps Design Reliable Electronics Faster at a Lower Cost
Scientists from HSE MIEM have developed a new approach to modelling electrothermal processes in high-power electronic circuits on printed circuit boards (PCB). The method allows engineers to quickly and accurately predict how electronic components heat up during operation, helping prevent overheating and potential failures. The results have been published in Russian Microelectronics.
The Future of Cardiogenetics Lies in Artificial Intelligence
Researchers from the AI and Digital Science Institute at the HSE Faculty of Computer Science have developed a program capable of analysing regions of the human genome that were previously inaccessible for accurate interpretation in genetic testing. The program adapts large generative AI (GenAI) models for cardiogenetics to predict how specific mutations affect the function of individual genes.
HSE Researchers: Young Russians Have Sufficient Knowledge About Money but Lack Money Management Skills
Adolescents and young adults in Russia today are well versed in financial terminology: they know what bank cards, loans, interest rates, and online payments are. However, as researchers at HSE University have found, real money-management skills remain poorly developed among most young people. The study ‘Financial Literacy, Financial Culture, and Financial Autonomy of Youth’ has been published in Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes.
Why Weaker Competitors Give Up—and How to Keep Them in the Game
Anastasia Antsygina, Assistant Professor at HSE University’s Faculty of Economic Sciences, has developed a prize distribution model that maximises competitor engagement. She proposed revising the traditional ‘winner-takes-all’ approach and, in certain cases, offering a small reward even to those who have lost. According to her, this could increase participant motivation and make the competition more intense. The findings of her research were published in the Economic Theory journal.
HSE Researchers Compile Scientific Database for Studying Children’s Eating Habits
The database created at HSE University can serve as a foundation for studying children’s eating habits. This is outlined in the study ‘The Influence of Age, Gender, and Social-Role Factors on Children’s Compliance with Age-Based Nutritional Norms: An Experimental Study Using the Dish-I-Wish Web Application.’ The work has been carried out as part of the HSE Basic Research Programme and was presented at the XXVI April International Academic Conference named after Evgeny Yasin.
New Foresight Centre Study Identifies the Most Destructive Global Trends for Humankind
A team of researchers from the HSE International Research and Educational Foresight Centre has examined how global trends affect the quality of human life—from life expectancy to professional fulfilment. The findings of the study titled ‘Human Capital Transformation under the Influence of Global Trends’ were published in Foresight.