PSYCHOPROPHYLAXIS OF ADOLESCENTS՚ ADDICTION TO THE INTERNET

Abstract

The Internet application of today՚s teenagers is usually reduced to communication and online games. The lack of appropriate censorship of information scattered on websites, the free use of the In-ternet can cause unpredictable changes in personality with a danger of separating the virtual life of the individual from real life. The main users of the Internet in Ukraine in this period, according to opinion polls, are people, aged 12 to 24, a significant proportion of which are school-children. For them, the Internet is considered to be not only an informa-tive place, a means of communication, but also often a means of avoiding reality and (or) having fun. For this reason, the prevention of Internet addiction in adolescents is becoming a particularly important task today, because in most cases the maximum proportion of Internet addicts is among adolescents. The article considers the theoretical foundations of the problem of Internet addiction revealing the meaning of the concept of "Internet addiction". It identifies the factors that describe the features of the mani-festation of Internet addiction in adolescence and its consequences for health and personal development. Approaches to prevention are analyzed, which should be based on the principle of conscious perception of signs, symptoms, motives and consequences of Internet-dependent behavior. It is noted that prevention should be carried out at the state level, by the psychological service of the CEI with the involvement of parents. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the system of prevention measures should be tailored to adolescents and should not focus on rescuing from existing addiction, but on preven-ting a possible problem in this area.