Obscene Language among Youth

The current extensive profanity in the speech of young people is a nation-wide social issue. For some young people, obscene language does not convey emotions: it is just the way they talk. However, public profanity is prohibited by the Federal Law On the State Language of the Russian Federation (May 5, 2014, no. 101-FZ) and some other legislative acts. Public use of certain obscene words is punishable by fines and imprisonment. The amendments to the Constitution adopted in 2020 stipulate the traditional religion as an intergenerational value. The authors analyzed the problem of obscene language from the legal, spiritual, and moral prospects, as well as studied the attitude of university students to profanity. A brief review of the current laws on profanity shows that Russian laws protect the Russian language, as well as the traditional spiritual and moral values it represents, and create conditions for the moral upbringing of the young generation. The survey conducted in October 2024 featured 301 students of the Vladivostok State University in Ussuriysk, Russia. More than half of the respondents were indifferent to public profanity and did not care about the impact of obscenities on the feelings of others and on their own physical and mental health. Some of them would give up swearing if they were demonstrated the harm of this phenomenon. The national pedagogical community faces the urgent task of fostering a culture of speech among young people.