The relationship of cyber-aggression with the characteristics of the digital experience of adolescents

Author: Antipina S., Secondary school 377 (Russia)

Keywords

cyber-aggression, adolescents, digital experience, social network, Internet communication

Abstract

The presentation includes the results of a study aimed at studying the relationship between the propensity for various types of cyber-aggression and the digital experience of adolescents. Electronic and mobile communication devices have become an important means of socialization of them. Most teenagers reported using mobile phones for instant messaging. It is teenagers who are characterized by significant risks associated with deviant behavior in the Internet space – cyber-aggression. Thus, the purpose of our study was to study the relationship between the propensity to display cyber-aggression and digital experience in a sample of adolescents. Is the time spent on the Internet and the frequency of social media use a risk factor for cyber-aggression? The experimental study involved 421 adolescents. The manifestation of cyber-aggression in our study was studied using the questionnaire "Typology of cyber-aggression". The assessment of the involvement of teenagers in Internet communication was implemented by the questionnaire. The results of our study indicate that teenagers are interested in online communication. Simultaneously, they assess their experience of online aggression as quite rare. Strong correlations are found between the indicators of cyber-aggression and the characteristics describing the digital experience of adolescents (0.13 ≤ rs ≤ 0.41 at p ≤ 0.01). The relationship between the propensity to cyber-aggression and the digital experience of adolescents is more mediated by age than by gender. According to the regression analysis, it was revealed that the time spent on the Internet is a significant predictor of the manifestation of their cyber-aggressive behavior. Thus, the results of the study should be used to teach teenagers safe behavior on the Internet, while preventive and correctional programs of cyber-aggressive behavior of adolescents should take into account age-specific manifestations of aggression in the Internet.

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