Problematic internet activities among Ukrainian adolescents: gender and psychosocial differences

Introduction
The aim was to analyse Ukrainian adolescents’ (14 to 15 year of age) internet activity including the prevalence of normative and problematic activities and identification of teenage e-users profiles. Gender and psychosocial variable diffe­rences were also analysed.

Material and methods
The study was conducted in 2020 on Ukrainian adolescents aged 14 to 15 living in Lviv (n = 1085), Drohobych (n = 499) and sur­rounding rural area (n = 454). Due to pandemic restrictions, an online questionnaire was used in Lviv while a traditional questionnaire was circulated in Drohobych and the countryside. The source of methodology was the Polish Mokotów Study.

Results
Teenagers spend the most of their time online on social media followed by watching videos, communicating via messaging and playing games. Teens showing problematic online activity are divided into two parts: “Gamers” prone to problematic use of computer games (17%) and “Social media users” with problematic use of social media (25%). The rest are “Safe/functional e-users” (58%). The analysis indicates 2.5 times more boys among “Gamers” and 3.5 times more girls among “Social media users”. Problematic online activity among adolescents was associated with depressive symptoms and sensation-seeking, lower family cohesion and poorer parental moni­toring.

Discussion
Normative and problematic online acti­vities have become part of teenagers’ lives as 14 to 15-year-olds spend more time online than on any other activities. However, a large group of teenagers online activities are problematic.

Conclusions
The study results indicate the need to take into account e-users profiles and related psychosocial factors when developing prevention programmes to address adolescents’ problematic online behaviour.