Gender Characteristics of Behavioral Strategies for Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites

The article presents the results of a study of gender characteristics of problematic use of social networking sites by high school students. The hypothesis was tested that the strategies of interaction with social networking sites differ among girls and boys, as well as the level of expression of the components of problematic network activity. To test the hypothesis, the questionnaire of problematic use of social networks in the adaptation of Sirota N.A., Moskovchenko D.V., Yaltonsky V.M., Yaltonskaya A.V., as well as a questionnaire that was developed to determine the field in the space of which the interests of users are realized were used as research methods. The study involved 180 people - high school students, including 96 girls and 84 boys. According to the data obtained as a result of the study, differences in behavioral strategies were revealed when using social networks. The components of problematic use in girls are more pronounced, and their interest lies in the field of entertainment, everyday life and culture. In boys, compared to women, the components of problematic use of social networks are less pronounced, and user activity is located in the field of politics and economics.