The results of the survey of respondents of the Gomel and Vitebsk regions regarding the most commonly used devices (types of communication) in everyday life

Research shows that the current level of knowledge and awareness about the nature of radio frequency electromagnetic fields and their impact on the environment and human health is low, and therefore there is a critical and urgent need to educate the public on this issue.In order to further develop methodological support for socio-psychological rehabilitation and adaptation of the population to the conditions of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, a sociological study was conducted in the Gomel (radionuclide-contaminated territory) and Vitebsk (conditionally clean territory) regions, during which the opinion of residents was studied as to which devices (types of communication) they and their family members use in everyday life, and also revealed self-assessments of the population of their knowledge in the safe use of various technical devices and types of communication.The sociological survey was conducted in February-March 2022 among various population groups of the Gomel and Vitebsk regions (N=1180, Δ=±4,0% with a confidence probability of 95,0%), identified by type of settlement (city/village), gender (male/female), age (16-29 years, 30-49 years, 50 years and older), the level of education (basic/general secondary; vocational-technical/secondary-specialized; higher) and the type of employment (student, student; working; non-working pensioner; working pensioner; running a household; entrepreneur, farmer, self-employed; unemployed). The research methodology is the systematization and generalization of the data obtained during the sociological survey.It was revealed that the vast majority of respondents, regardless of gender, age, level of education and place of residence (city / village), use a fairly extensive list of devices (types of communication). With general similar trends in the use of various devices (types of communication), respondents in the Vitebsk region more often than in the Gomel region use remote monitoring, surveillance, and control devices, but in the Gomel region – more often use mobile phone without Internet access, as well as mobile communication of standard 4G.At the same time, a significant part of the respondents of the studied regions are not fully aware that with improper use (distance from a person during operation, operating time, etc.), various devices (types of communication) can have a negative impact on human health.