'Why is table CHARSET set to utf8mb4 and COLLATION to utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci

I've recently noticed that, when ever I start a new WordPress project, my tables' collation automatically changes from utf8_unicode_ci (which I select when I create a new DB from phpMyAdmin) to utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci.

Also, I've noticed in phpMyAdmin under “General Settings” that server connection Collation defaults to utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci.

I'm running MySQL Server 5.7.17 and phpMyAdmin 4.6.6 on Ubuntu 17.04.

My questions are following:

  1. Why is this happening?
  2. If possible, how do I prevent this? Because of utf8mb4 I've experienced problems when migrating WP sites to an older MySQL server which does not support it.
  3. Is point 2. advisable? Are there any benefits in using charset utf8mb4 over utf8, and collation utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci over utf8_unicode_ci?
mysqlwordpressphpmyadmincharacter-encodingcollation


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