(2016) Science and education, 5, 189-193. Odessa.

Lidiya Korol,
PhD (Сandidate of Psychological Sciences),
associate professor,
Svitlana Maksymets,
PhD (Сandidate of Psychological Sciences),
associate professor, Department of General, Developmental and Educational Psychology,
Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko,
40, Velyka Berdychivska Str., Zhytomyr, Ukraine

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF INTERNET IMPACT ON PERSONALITY FORMATION

The article deals with the issue of Internet impact on the formation of adolescents’ personal qualities. The prevalence of Internet-based communication, which has become popular recently, causes hazards which should be controlled. Internet-addiction is considered to be one of them, as it leads to social maladjustment and personal changes. The study is aimed at defining the role of the Internet in the life of students and the peculiarities of its impact on the formation of personal qualities, particularly empathy. The obtained results indicate that almost all participants (92%) use the Internet every day, and most of them consider communication acts as the main reason for being online. According to the results of the examination of time spent on the Internet, two almost equal groups of respondents have been distinguished: those who do not have Internet-addiction (48%); those who are “on their way to addiction” or are Internet-addicted (52%). The findings of the research of empathy levels among the representatives of both groups have proved the hypothesis that there are differences in the manifestation of empathy between Internet-addicted students and those who are considered to be ordinary Internet users without any addiction. Thus, the participants from the Internetaddicted group have the lower level of empathy compared to the second group of students; they also display lower levels of emotional sensitivity to the problems of other people. Internet-addicted students more rarely demonstrate empathy when assessing the actions of others. The obtained results prove the necessity of preventing and overcoming Internet-addiction among adolescents by means of the development of the need for real (not virtual) communication, the development of communication skills, morality and empathy.

Internet addiction, personality, empathy.

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