Factors reducing the risk of internet addiction in young people in their home environment

Contemporary research fails to provide insight into the threats that Internet activities pose to young people and the risk of Internet addiction, examined both from the perspective of the relationships that young people have with their parents and the latter's readiness for parenting. Researchers emphasize that the way young people function in cyberspace and the choices they make regarding their use of Internet resources, computer games or software depend mostly on communication and socialization in their home environment during their upbringing. A diagnostic study has been conducted with middle school students to examine the nature (resulting from this particular stage of their development) of their relationships with parents. Although young people are generally self-sufficient, in the majority of life aspects they depend heavily on their parents. Cyberspace gives them an opportunity to become independent more quickly, but it also poses threats of which young people are often unaware. The analysis of the study results presents a two-variant model of parental behavior that determines the quality of children's Internet activities. Both interest shown by parents and their readiness for parenting have turned out to be the critical factors in reducing the risk of Internet addiction. The conclusion, in turn, considers other theoretical premises for the possibility of a third variant of parental behavior, which was described according to the strategy that creates conditions that favor the optimal participation of students in cyberspace. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.