Adolescents’ communication on the Internet: the boundaries of normativity

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• adolescents
• the internet
• communication
• aggression
• normativity
• morality