Scholarly record

WAYS TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT SITUATIONS, BY YOUTH ADDICTED AND NON-ADDICTED TO THE INTERNET

M. Muchacki

Abstract

In difficult and stressful situations, people apply different remedial strategies. Most often these are active strategies: planning, active coping, positive reevaluation and development (Oginska-Bulik and Juczynski 2009). As a consequence of stress, activities are undertaken containing cognitive components, concentration on the problem, emotions and individual (Seoul 1999). Opposite the young people, the Internet offers enormous possibilities today, which allows unlimited access to all kinds of information, but also creates the danger of addiction. A worrying phenomenon is the fact that young people addicted to the Internet are becoming younger people. Therefore, the aim of this research was to learn about the differences in the ways of dealing with difficult situations that occur in addicted and non-Internet dependent youth? The theoretical analysis of coping with difficult situations by addicted and non-addicted youth as well as the results of the research so far allowed to formulate the following main hypothesis: Young people with a high degree of Internet addiction are less able to cope with difficult situations than young people with a low degree of addiction. This hypothesis has been empirically verified using the following tools: COPE Questionnaire to measure Carver's coping strategies. The second tool was the personal worksheet, which was used to collect basic information about the examined youth and their activity on the Internet. The research was conducted in person in January and February 2019. The selection of the subjects was deliberate. The study was attended by a total of 338 young people, ie 16-18 year old students studying in high schools in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in Poland. Obtained results of research on coping with difficult situations by the studied youth differentiate extreme groups. Young people characterized by high activity on the Internet received a low score of coping with difficult situations. They mostly used coping style based on emotions, cessation of activities and distraction. On the other hand, young people with low Internet activity in difficult situations search for emotional support, apply a strategy of positive reevaluation, planning and active action. The obtained test results have their confirmation in the adopted general hypothesis. The completed research program does not exhaust the problem of coping with young people in difficult situations, nevertheless the research carried out has a socially relevant meaning, as it allowed to formulate application forms for pedagogical practice relating to effective intervention in the form of universal education about Internet addiction and ways of dealing with difficult situations.

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