Adolescents’ communication on the Internet: the boundaries of normativity

The emergence and spread of the Internet has led to the fact that the virtual space has become a new source of communication, especially for adolescents, active users. However, such communication differs significantly from real interaction in the absence of various restrictions that affect the quality of communication and can lead to complete disregard of generally accepted moral norms. The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of adolescents ' communication on the Internet and the boundaries of normativity that they tend to cross, as well as the reasons for their violation. The article considers the positive and negative impact of Internet communication on the personality of schoolchildren, communication models, revealing the distinctive features of network interaction of young people and their negative consequences. The problems of compliance with the norms of communication and etiquette are analyzed, which, among other things, can develop into a more aggressive form – cyberbullying. Statistical data on violations of the boundaries of normativity when communicating with young people on the Internet in a number of countries are presented. The main directions of prevention of non-normative interaction of adolescents in the virtual space are highlighted. The study of the peculiarities of communication of adolescents in the digital environment will reveal in more detail the understanding of the causes of the spread of virtual aggression and will be able to contribute to the development of the level of communication culture of young people on the Internet.

1. Babaeva Yu.D., Voiskunskii A.E., Smyslova O.V. Internet: vozdeistvie na lichnost' [Internet: impact on personality]. Moscow: Terra, 2017. 168 p. (In Russ.).
2. Voiskunskii A.E. Psikhologiya i Internet [Psychology and the Internet]. Moscow: Akropol', 2015. 439 p. (In Russ.).
3. Dozortseva E.G., Kiryukhina D.V. Kiberbulling i sklonnost' k deviantnomu povedeniyu u podrostkov [Cyberbullying and tendency to deviant behavior in adolescents]. Prikladnaya yuridicheskaya psikhologiya = [Applied legal psychology], 2020. Vol. 1, no. 50, pp. 80–87. DOI:10.33463/2072-8336.2020.1(50).080-087 (In Russ.).
4. Zhmyrko K.S. Osobennosti obshcheniya podrostkov posredstvom interneta [Features of adolescent communication via the Internet] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Molodoi uchenyi = [Young scientist], 2015. Vol. 10, no. 90, pp. 1333–1335. URL: https://moluch.ru/archive/90/18749/ (Accessed 03.07.2021). (In Russ.).
5. Ignat'eva E.A., Sofronova N.V. Psikhologicheskie osobennosti vzaimodeistviya lyudei v informatsionnom obshchestve: monografiya [Psychological features of human interaction in the information society: monograph]. Moscow: Sputnik+, 2017. 158 p. (In Russ.).
6. Soldatova G.V. et al. Poimannye odnoi set'yu: sotsial'no-psikhologicheskoe issledovanie predstavlenii detei i vzroslykh ob Internete: monografiya [Caught by one network: a socio-psychological study of the ideas of children and adults about the Internet: monograph]. Moscow: Nauka, 2018. 176 p. (In Russ.).
7. Frindte V., Keler T. Publichnoe konstruirovanie Ya v oposredovannom komp'yuterom obshchenii [Public construction of the self in computer-mediated communication] [Elektronnyi resurs]. In Voiskunskii A.E. (eds.), Gumanitarnye issledovaniya Interneta = [Humanitarian studies of the Internet]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 2000, pp. 40–54. URL: http://flogiston.ru/articles/netpsy/frindte (Accessed 03.07.2021). (In Russ.).
8. Sheinov V.P. Kiberbulling: predposylki i posledstviya [Cyberbullying: preconditions and consequences] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Institut psikhologii Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Sotsial'naya i ekonomicheskaya psikhologiya = [Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Social and Economic Psychology], 2019. Vol. 4, no. 2 (14), pp. 77–98. URL: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp??=&id=38542298& (Accessed 03.07.2021). (In Russ.).
9. Martin L. et al. A Social Psychology of the Internet. London: Sage Publications Ltd., 2019. 224 p.
10. Baier D., Krenz M., Bergmann M.C. Verbreitung Und Einflussfaktoren des Cyberbullying. Ergebnisse einer Repräsentativbefragung in Niedersachsen. Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation, 2016. Vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 227–245. DOI:10.3262/ZSE1603227
11. Bauman S., Perry V.M., Wachs S. The rising threat of cyberhate for young people around the globe. In Wright M.F., Schiamberg L.B. (eds.), Child and Adolescent Online Risk Exposure. Academic Press, 2021, pp. 149–175. DOI:10.1016/B978-0-12-817499-9.00008-9
12. Bergmann M.C., Baier D. Prevalence and Correlates of Cyberbullying Perpetration. Findings from a German Representative Student Survey. International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018. Vol. 15, no. 2, article ID 274. 13 p. DOI:10.3390/ijerph15020274
13. Betts L.R., Spenser K.A., Gardner S.E. Adolescents’ involvement in cyber bullying and perceptions of school: The importance of perceived peer acceptance for female adolescents. Sex Roles, 2017. Vol. 77, no. 7–8, pp. 471–481. DOI:10.1007/s11199-017-0742-2
14. Bill Belsey Cyberbullying: An Emerging Threat to the «Always On» Generation [Elektronnyi resurs]. 2019. URL: http://www.billbelsey.com/?p=1827 (Accessed 19.07.2021).
15. Blaya C., Audrin C., Skrzypiec G. School Bullying, Perpetration, and Cyberhate: Overlapping Issues. Contemporary School Psychology, 2020, 9 p. DOI:10.1007/s40688-020-00318-5
16. Chen L., Ho S.S, Lwin M.O. A meta-analysis of factors predicting cyberbullying perpetration and victimization: From the social cognitive and media effects approach. New Media & Society, 2017. Vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 1194–1213. DOI:10.1177/1461444816634037
17. Kalliope A. et al. Cross-national aspects of cyberbullying victimization among 14–17-year-old adolescents across seven European countries. BMC Public Health, 2018. Vol. 18, article ID 800. 15 p. DOI:10.1186/s12889-018-5682-4
18. Ferrara P. et al. Cyberbulling a modern form of bullying: let’s talk about this health and social problem. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 2018, no. 44, 3 p. DOI:10.1186/s13052-018-0446-4
19. Festl R. Perpetrators on the internet: Analyzing individual and structural explanation factors of cyberbullying in school context. Computers in Human Behavior, 2016. Vol. 59, pp. 237–248. DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.017
20. Xingchao W. et al. Parental Phubbing and Adolescents’ Cyberbullying Perpetration: A Moderated Mediation Model of Moral Disengagement and Online Disinhibition. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2020, 23 p. DOI:10.1177/0886260520961877
21. Salminen J., Hopf M., Chowdhury S.A. Developing an online hate classifier for multiple social media platforms. Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences, 2020. Vol. 10, article ID 1, 34 p. DOI:10.1186/s13673-019-0205-6
22. Sang M.B. The influence of strain factors, social control factors, self-control and computer use on adolescent cyber delinquency: Korean National Panel Study Children and Youth Services Review. Children and Youth Services Review, 2017. Vol. 78, pp. 74–80. DOI:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.05.008
23. Selkie E.M., Fales J.L., Moreno M.A. Cyberbullying Prevalence among US Middle and High School–Aged Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Quality Assessment. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2016. Vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 125–133. DOI:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.09.026
24. Skovholt K., Gronning A., Kankaanranta A. The Communicative Functions of Emoticons in Workplace E-Mails. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2014. Vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 780–797. DOI:10.1111/jcc4.12063
25. Chu X.W. et al. Stability and Change of Bullying Roles in the Traditional and Virtual Contexts: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study in Chinese Early Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2018. Vol. 47, no. 11, pp. 2384–2400. DOI:10.1007/s10964-018-0908-4
26. Terzian M.A., Andrews K.M., Moore K.A. Preventing Multiple Risky Behaviors among Adolescents: Seven Strategies [Elektronnyi resurs]. 2011. 13 p. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265111039_Preventing_Multiple_Risky_Behaviors_among_Adolescents_Seven_Strategies (Accessed 03.07.2021).
27. Trompeter N., Bussey K., Fitzpatrick S. Cyber victimization and internalizing difficulties: The mediating roles of coping self-efficacy and emotion dysregulation. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2018. Vol. 46, pp. 1129–1139. DOI:10.1007/s10802-017-0378-2
28. Vitto C. Cyberbullying among adolescents: frequency and characteristics. Sociology International Journal, 2018. Vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 730–734. DOI:10.15406/sij.2018.02.00129
29. Willard N. Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress. Champaign: Research Press, 2007. 320 p.
30. Zych I., Beltrán M., Ortega-Ruíz R. Competencias sociales y emocionales de adolescents involucrados en diferentes roles de bullying y cyberbullying [Social and emotional competencies in adolescents involved in different bullying and cyberbullying roles]. Revista Psicodidáctica, 2018. Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 86–93. DOI:10.1016/j.psicod.2017.12.001