Destructive influence of the Internet on behavior of minors: results of empirical study
Introduction. The relevance of the article lies in the fact that at present there is a significant expansion of the destructive content of the Internet, which is directly reflected in the behavior of children and adolescents. Methods. The authors present the results of a sociological study of pedagogical workers “The influence of the information environment on children and adolescents” (N= 7204), conducted in 28 settlements of Russia in the period August-September 2022. Results and its discussion. Analysis of the results of the study made it possible to identify the most common types of destructive influence of the information environment on children and adolescents: cyberbullying, harassment with negative messages, social boycott, publication and distribution of intimate content; attraction to suicidal sites, etc. The criteria for diagnosing the conditions of the child, indicating that he is subjected to destructive influence from the Internet, are determined. It has been established on basis of the analysis of pedagogical workers’ opinions, that most common forms of deviant behavior of children and adolescents, which are result of the negative influence of the Internet, are unwillingness to learn, rudeness, obscene language, smoking, criticism of adults, protests, disobedience to teachers and parents, defiant appearance, make-up, humiliation of classmates and other schoolchildren, fights, alcohol consumption, theft, drug use, cohabitation and inclination to it, running away from home.