Internet Behavior Research Articles

Addictive internet behaviors: The role of trait emotional intelligence, self-esteem, age, and gender.

Internet is essential part of everyday life and certainly facilitate it on several levels. It is a helpful information tool, and knowledge, but its unlimited range often is risky for users. The behaviors and outcomes of internet abuse have already been well-documented in the literature; less is known about the role of personal factors that reinforce internet addiction. Based on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model (I-PACE), the current study investigates the role of trait emotional intelligence and self-esteem, age, and gender in relation to addictive internet behaviors. We conducted an online investigation among respondents. The participants were Italian university students who voluntarily completed the Abuse Internet Addiction scale (UADI) and the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. Path analysis results revealed that both trait emotional intelligence and self-esteem had a protective direct effect on addictive internet behaviors. Age negatively affects addictive internet behaviors; younger are more likely to develop addictive internet behaviors than older individuals. Finally, we did not find an effect of gender on addictive internet behaviors. Our results suggest the need to develop prevention plans for addictive internet behaviors and educational programs to increase emotional intelligence and self-esteem components to help younger to improve interpersonal and emotional management skills to better handle their internet use.

ONLINE AT RISK! ONLINE ACTIVITIES OF CHILDREN IN DORMITORIES: EXPERIENCES IN A CROATIAN COUNTY

The virtual environment available through the internet is an important domain of children’s subjective well-being. Widespread usage of information technology brings risks as well as benefits, a topic now under intensive study by professionals in multiple fields. To date there has been a lack of research about the experiences of children from group accommodation settings when navigating the virtual environment. The main goal of the present study, which involved 510 high school students living in dormitories in Split-Dalmatia County, was to determine and document patterns of internet usage and internet addiction, and to examine another internet behavior, cyberbullying. Our results show that 3.73% of the children we studied manifested a severe level of internet addiction, while about one third took part in cyberbullying as victim, perpetrator, or both. An important finding is that children involved with cyberbullying have significantly higher levels of internet addiction, suggesting a relationship between these phenomena. In the second, qualitative, phase of the study, the quantitative research findings were discussed with children, parents, teachers, and staff. Our results enable a better understanding of young people`s behaviors in the online world, and could contribute to the development of educational programs for children and young people and the promotion of evidence-based practice in dormitory settings.

Quantity, Content, and Context Matter: Associations Among Social Technology Use and Sleep Habits in Early Adolescents

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the associations of social technology access and content, bedtime behaviors, parental phone restrictions, and timing and duration of sleep on school nights in early adolescents. MethodsAdolescents (aged 11–15 years, n = 772) in the Northeast U.S. completed an online survey during or after school in spring 2019. ResultsQuantity of social technology use (e.g., checking social media, problematic internet behaviors, mobile use), content viewed (e.g., emotional or violent videos, risky behaviors), and social context (e.g., bedtime behaviors, starting social media at an early age) were significantly related to later bedtimes and fewer hours of sleep on school nights. Parental rules restricting mobile phone and online use before bed and obtaining a smartphone at a later age were associated with increased sleep time and earlier bedtime. ConclusionsQuantity, content, and context of social technology use may affect sleep timing and duration in early adolescents.

Associations between the Dark Triad and online communication behavior: A brief report of preliminary findings

ABSTRACT The recent and rapid growth of user engagement on online and social media platforms has attracted increasing attention from communication scholars. Troublingly, little is known about the relationship between “dark” personalities and online communication behavior. There is a distinct need for communication scholars to investigate the impact of anti-social personality traits on computer- mediated communication behavior. To address this, we conducted a survey (N = 147) among undergraduate students living in the US to identify the association between the three Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and six computer-mediated communication outcomes (e.g., compulsive Internet behavior, opinion leadership, perceived anonymity, media trust, social media self-presentation, and psychological reactance). We also examine gender as a potential moderator. These findings show a distinct relationship between Dark Triad personality traits and computer-mediated communication outcomes, highlighting the importance of considering these psychological individual differences in future research in this area.

The risks of internet addiction: Structure and characteristics of perception

Introduction. Nowadays, digital transformation of society is inevitably accompanied by a set of problems and challenges. Under universal transition to an online format, it is important to analyse how parents assess internet risks for their children and themselves.The aim of the present research is to reveal parents’ perceptions of main trends and structural features of children internet addiction.Methodology and research methods. The research is based on the results of a mass survey. The survey was conducted in 2019 according to a multi-stage sample (by gender, age, type of settlement) consisted of the adult population of the Tyumen region. The authors carried out a detailed socio-statistical analysis of internet risks for children based on the self-assessments of all respondents (with the identification of socio-demographic groups), risk assessments for children, according to parents. The structure of “Parents” sub-sample on gender and settlement type is proportional to the structure of the main sample. Under the heading “Children”, the authors mean minor children of respondents. The risk of internet addiction is included in the structure of 12 internet risks and examined on the basis of 4 components (behavioural, cognitive, social and affective). In the course of analysis, Alpha Cronbach consistency ratings, index method, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients, Pearson’s Goodness-of-Fit Test, F-Test for equality of several means, case classification and triangulation method were applied.Results. The internet transformation of society can be considered an accomplished fact, since the vast majority of people of all ages spend hours online daily. Every fourth respondent notes that their children use the internet from three to four hours a day. The ambivalence of parental attitudes toward internet addiction is manifested in high estimates of its risk for children and young people “in general”, and in significantly lower estimates for own children, regardless of the amount of time children spend on the internet, whether they have friends outside the network. Parents clearly articulate negative connotations “in general”, but at the same time give very low estimates of dangers in behavioural variables.Scientific novelty. New empirical data, classified on the basis of internet behaviour of children and their parents, as well as parental attitude to this behaviour, have been introduced into the research discourse. An important social issue is identified: in spite of parents’ declarations about the risks of dysfunctional (to the detriment of personal interaction, outdoor games and other kinds of activities) internet use by children, the consensus on the features and dangers of internet addiction in society has not been reached yet.Practical significance. The weak articulation and ambivalence of internet addiction problem perception in Russian society is being proved. Insufficient parental awareness of potential internet addiction dangers for children is demonstrated.

The risks of internet addiction: Structure and characteristics of perception

Introduction. Nowadays, digital transformation of society is inevitably accompanied by a set of problems and challenges. Under universal transition to an online format, it is important to analyse how parents assess internet risks for their children and themselves.The aim of the present research is to reveal parents’ perceptions of main trends and structural features of children internet addiction.Methodology and research methods. The research is based on the results of a mass survey. The survey was conducted in 2019 according to a multi-stage sample (by gender, age, type of settlement) consisted of the adult population of the Tyumen region. The authors carried out a detailed socio-statistical analysis of internet risks for children based on the self-assessments of all respondents (with the identification of socio-demographic groups), risk assessments for children, according to parents. The structure of “Parents” sub-sample on gender and settlement type is proportional to the structure of the main sample. Under the heading “Children”, the authors mean minor children of respondents. The risk of internet addiction is included in the structure of 12 internet risks and examined on the basis of 4 components (behavioural, cognitive, social and affective). In the course of analysis, Alpha Cronbach consistency ratings, index method, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients, Pearson’s Goodness-of-Fit Test, F-Test for equality of several means, case classification and triangulation method were applied.Results. The internet transformation of society can be considered an accomplished fact, since the vast majority of people of all ages spend hours online daily. Every fourth respondent notes that their children use the internet from three to four hours a day. The ambivalence of parental attitudes toward internet addiction is manifested in high estimates of its risk for children and young people “in general”, and in significantly lower estimates for own children, regardless of the amount of time children spend on the internet, whether they have friends outside the network. Parents clearly articulate negative connotations “in general”, but at the same time give very low estimates of dangers in behavioural variables.Scientific novelty. New empirical data, classified on the basis of internet behaviour of children and their parents, as well as parental attitude to this behaviour, have been introduced into the research discourse. An important social issue is identified: in spite of parents’ declarations about the risks of dysfunctional (to the detriment of personal interaction, outdoor games and other kinds of activities) internet use by children, the consensus on the features and dangers of internet addiction in society has not been reached yet.Practical significance. The weak articulation and ambivalence of internet addiction problem perception in Russian society is being proved. Insufficient parental awareness of potential internet addiction dangers for children is demonstrated.

Internet usage behavior among agricultural students in Haryana

Internet is a versatile tool used by the students for multiple purposes. A study was carried out to find the internet usage behavior among the students of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2018-2019. The data were collected from 200 respondents using structured interview schedule, as personal interview schedule reduces the bias of respondents and help in collection of credible data. Findings revealed that majority of the students (71.00%) used the internet daily for more than 2 h at their hostel. Most of the students (82.50%) used internet for entertainment purpose compared to academic and professional purpose. Hence, concerted efforts like; formal education of ICT tools, easy access and usage, cost effectiveness measures, etc. have to be made by the policy makers, administrators and academicians concerned to make necessary improvements in planning and implementing ICTs strategies, so that students must be made aware of use of internet and promote interest among them for its optimum academic and professional use. Study also revealed that age, education, medium of schooling, schooling, parental income, family education, scientism, job preference, annual expenditure, mass media exposure, information seeking behavior and risk orientation with their usage behavior of internet had positive and significant correlation at 0.05 level of probability.

Experiences and Perceptions of Online Sexual Solicitation and Grooming of Minors: A Retrospective Report

ABSTRACT Internet predation of minors has become a focus of child sexual abuse research and legislation. Studies reveal that many American youth report experiencing sexual solicitation and sexual grooming online, but the youth perspective of these experiences has not been examined. This study examined retrospective perspectives of online sexual solicitation and grooming experienced as a minor. Participants were 1,133 undergraduate college students at two public institutions in the United States who completed an online survey retrospectively exploring Internet behaviors, experiences of online sexual solicitation or online grooming, and perceptions of the experience. Results showed that one-quarter of total participants conversed with adult strangers online as minors. Importantly, 65% of participants who chatted with adult strangers as minors experienced sexual solicitation from an adult stranger. Twenty-three percent of 1,133 total participants recalled having a long, intimate conversation as a minor with an adult stranger from an online chatroom that followed a pattern of online sexual grooming. While less than half (38%) of the youth who engaged in an intimate online relationship with an adult stranger met the adult in-person, a large majority of those who did meet in-person (68%) reported physical sexual intercourse. Implications for Internet safety and guidelines are discussed.

Impact of the Internet on Medical Decisions of Chinese Adults: Longitudinal Data Analysis.

BackgroundThe internet has caused the explosive growth of medical information and has greatly improved the availability of medical knowledge. This makes the internet one of the main ways for residents to obtain medical information and knowledge before seeking medical treatment. However, little has been researched on how the internet affects medical decisions.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to explore the associations between internet behaviors and medical decisions among Chinese adults aged 18 or over, including whether to go to the hospital and which level of medical institution to choose.MethodsWith the adult residents (≥18 years old) in 12 regions including urban and rural areas taken as the research objects, the differences in medical choices of adults with various characteristics were analyzed, and generalized linear mixed models were adopted to analyze the longitudinal data of the China Health Nutrition Survey from 2006 to 2015.ResultsAdult groups with different ages, genders, education levels, regions, places of residence, severities of illness and injury, years of suffering from hypertension, and history of chronic diseases showed diverse medical decisions, and the differences were statistically significant (P<.05). After controlling for these potential confounding factors and taking self-care as the reference, the probability of Chinese adults who participated in online browsing activities selecting hospital care was 0.82 (95% CI 0.69-0.98; P=.03) times that of residents who did not participate in online browsing activities. In terms of medical institution choices, adults who participated in online browsing activities were 1.86 (95% CI 1.35-2.58; P<.001) times more likely to opt for municipal medical treatment than primary care. However, the effect of online browsing on the selection probability of county-level hospitals was not significant compared with primary hospitals (P=.59). Robust analysis verified that accessing the internet had a similar effect on Chinese adults’ medical decisions.ConclusionsChinese adults who use the internet are a little less likely to go to the hospital than self-care. The internet has broken down the barriers to obtain knowledge of common diseases and thus has a slight substitution effect of self-care on hospital care. Internet use may increase the probability of adults going to municipal hospitals. The rising tendency of visiting high-level medical institutions may be consequently exacerbated due to knowledge monopoly of severe and complicated diseases that is difficult to eliminate, and the increase in inconsistent and incomplete medical information online will blur the residents’ cognitive boundary of common diseases and severe diseases. Exploring the substantive impact of the internet on medical decision making is of great significance for further rational planning and utilization of the internet, in order to guide patients to appropriate medical institution.

WIKI-PIANO: EXAMINING THE CROWD-SOURCED COMPOSITION OF A CONTINUOUSLY CHANGING INTERNET-BASED SCORE

ABSTRACTAlexander Schubert's WIKI-PIANO.NET is an internet-based score, commissioned by the author and performed by him on an international tour from 2018 to 2020. The website score contains modules of notation, text, images, video and sound that can be edited by any member of the public, similar to a Wikipedia page. This article explores the huge volume and variety of content added to the score over the first 20 months after the premiere, and the extreme compositional approaches and unusual patterns of internet behaviour displayed. Examining these contributions offers insights into the online culture of new music, including its approaches to humour, its creative competitiveness, its mastery of memes, and its sophisticated subversions of the relationship between composer, performer and audience.

Substantiation of the conceptual approach to of promotion strategy of biotechnological products

The main approaches to the formation of a strategy for the promotion of biotechnological products are highlighted. The conceptual approach to the promotion strategy is an algorithm for the sequence of consumer assessment, namely the business entity of the environmentally oriented direction, its direction of activity, hierarchy in management, positive and negative facts, the general level of Internet activity. It also focuses on the fact that the future strategy is most effective on digital platforms and is based on the principles of Internet marketing with the use of special marketing tools and mandatory evaluation of the effectiveness of the implemented strategy at the final stage. The key features of modern Internet behavior of regular and non-permanent Internet users are revealed. The position of the reference group on the rational way of purchasing biotechnological products is highlighted, as well as the key Internet marketing tools of interaction of biologic manufacturers with their consumers. It is substantiated that at the present stage of development of biotechnological business the most rational tool of ecological marketing in online systems is the official site. The model of behavior of the management of consumer enterprises in the implementation of innovative approaches to marketing interaction in the B2B segment is described. The conceptual approach of the strategy of promotion of biotechnological products in online systems is formed and substantiated.

Internet Addiction Test research through a cross-cultural perspective: Spain, USA and Colombia.

Internet users worldwide often experience problems related to their Internet use, and although culture has an important influence over how people communicate, what they value, and therefore how they use the Internet, little cross-cultural research on the subject of problematic Internet use has been carried out. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the most common measurement tool for this purpose, has been used in various countries. In this study we compared and analyzed the cross-cultural results found in the most recent research on the IAT factor analysis. We found that in countries with two or more studies, results are often replicated, suggesting that cultural context influences Internet behaviors. We conducted our own IAT factor analysis studies in three countries - Spain, USA, and Colombia - with a total of 1,273 participants. We compared our results with those from previous studies in the same countries and found similar results. The most notable finding was that all the IAT factor analyses, both ours and the previous ones in the same regions, contained a factor related to loss of control/time management problems and another factor related to emotional/psychological problems, thereby suggesting that impulse control problems and unfulfilled emotional needs are the most important components in the development of problematic Internet use in various countries around the world. Future research on problematic Internet use should focus on these aspects.

Maternal mediation as an act of privacy invasion: The association with internet addiction

No studies have considered that parental mediation could be intrusive to adolescents' privacy and could lead to an increased risk of internet addiction. By integrating communication privacy management theory and parental monitoring research, this study examines the relationships among maternal mediation, adolescents' perceptions of privacy invasion, defensive responses to privacy invasion, and internet addiction. The participants were 678 13- to 16-year-old adolescents and their mothers who participated in the study for two consecutive years. Mothers reported their use of mediation strategies at Time 1; adolescents reported their perceptions of privacy invasion in terms of internet use and their defensive responses to privacy invasion at Time 2 and their internet addiction at Time 1 and Time 2. The results indicated that maternal restrictive mediation was associated with adolescents' perceptions of privacy invasion and that perceptions of privacy invasion were associated with defensive responses, which led to increased internet addiction. Adolescent females and males showed similar relationships. The findings emphasize the importance of parents' respect for adolescents' privacy boundaries and suggest that parents should adopt more communication-based mediation strategies to regulate adolescents' internet behaviors.

Social and Behavioral Health Factors Associated with Violent and Mature Gaming in Early Adolescence.

We examined how risk level of video games, measured by maturity and violence level, was associated with behavioral health, social impacts, and online social interactions. School-based surveys in two different cohorts assessed self-reported gaming behaviors, health, and social media use. For Study 1, our 700 participants were 52% female and 48% White (mean age 12.7). Middle school students who played the high-risk games reported higher depressive symptoms and problematic internet behaviors, less sleep, more time spent playing games, and higher frequency of checking social media than non-gaming students. Those who played high-risk games were less likely to play alone and to play with strangers than those who played minimal-risk games. For Study 2, our 772 participants were 50% female and 57% White (mean age 12.6). Similar to Study 1, we found that those who played the high-risk games spent significantly more time playing games, were more interactive with other players, and had poorer sleep outcomes than non-high-risk gamers. Additionally, playing high-risk games had significantly different social impacts of gaming compared to less-risky gaming, including spending more money on games, spending less time on homework and with family or skipping meals due to gaming. Mature and violent content of video games and amount of online social interaction associated with gaming play a strong role in behavioral health and social impacts within families. These results can inform guidelines to intervene when problematic behaviors emerge.

Роль громадянської освіти у реалізації соціально-політичної інтернет-поведінки української молоді

Роль громадянської освіти у реалізації соціально-політичної інтернет-поведінки української молоді

Do consumer internet behaviours provide incremental information to predict credit default risk?

The peer-to-peer lending industry has experienced recent turmoil, posing risks to fintech companies and banks. Based on a random sample of 33,669 borrowers who had downloaded peer-to-peer lending platforms prior to submitting loan applications to a well-known fintech company, Du Xiaoman Financial (formerly Baidu Finance), this article evaluates the predictive power of borrowers’ internet behaviours on credit default risk. After controlling for borrowers’ basic characteristics that are widely used in academic research and enterprise practices, the coefficients of key factors selected from 3,100 variables are economically and statistically significant. The average Kolmogorov-Smirnov value of the prediction model calculated using the hold-out method is approximately 37.09%. The results remain robust in several additional analyses. This study indicates the importance of non-credit information, particularly borrowers’ internet behaviours, in supplementing borrowers’ credit records for both fintech companies and banks.

SimTalk: Simulation of IoT Applications.

The correct implementation and behavior of Internet of Things (IoT) applications are seldom investigated in the literature. This paper shows how the simulation mechanism can be integrated well into an IoT application development platform for correct implementation and behavior investigation. We use an IoT application development platform called IoTtalk as an example to describe how the simulation mechanism called SimTalk can be built into this IoT platform. We first elaborate on how to implement the simulator for an input IoT device (a sensor). Then we describe how an output IoT device (an actuator) can be simulated by an animated simulator. We use a smart farm application to show how the simulated sensors are used for correct implementation. We use applications including interactive art (skeleton art and water dance) and the pendulum physics experiment as examples to illustrate how IoT application behavior investigation can be achieved in SimTalk. As the main outcome of this paper, the SimTalk simulation codes can be directly reused for real IoT applications. Furthermore, SimTalk is integrated well with an IoT application verification tool in order to formally verify the IoT application configuration. Such features have not been found in any IoT simulators in the world.

ETHICAL NORMS AS REGULATORS OF LABOR RELATIONS, AND UNSPORTING BEHAVIOR OF A TRAINER ON THE INTERNET AS A BASIS FOR TERMINATION OF A LABOR AGREEMENT

Aim. The purpose of the study is to establish the legal consequences of violation of ethical standards by employees and to determine the content of the misconduct committed by the trainer and considered as incompatible with the continuation of labor relations, including those in the Internet. Materials and methods. Study and logical analysis of legislative acts and court decisions on disputes on violation of professional ethics and misconduct incompatible with the continuation of labor relations; synthesis of concepts and theoretical provisions; generalization of the advanced experience of foreign countries. Results. The analysis of legislative acts and court decisions on disputes on violation of professional ethics and misconduct incompatible with the continuation of labor relations allowed us to determine the cases when ethical and moral standards can act as regulators of labor relations and also allowed to establish the criteria for misconduct committed by trainers on the Internet and being the basis for dismissal. Conclusion. In the guidelines of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to state a list of approximate criteria for assessing immoral misconduct committed by a trainer, including those in the Internet. These include: the employee's attitude to the committed act, including the possibility/probability of the recurrence of such behavior; time limitation of the commission of an act; assessment of the consequences of such behavior (whether this behavior led to violation or deterioration of discipline or the educational process); the attitude of colleagues and students towards misconduct; the recognition of obscenity and conflict with public morality in the actions of the employee. This conclusion is proved by the positive experience of foreign countries. It is unacceptable to publicize unethical behavior of employees without their written consent or to submit such cases for general discussion. In order to effectively regulate labor relations and observe ethical standards in professional activity, specific guidelines for Internet behavior should be included in the codes of professional ethics of trainers and teachers.

EXPLORING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY PRACTICES AMONG SCIENCE EDUCATION UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The aim of this research was to explore e-dishonesty practices among science education undergraduates based on measurement models. The measuring tool was the Internet-triggered Academic Dishonesty Scale (IADS) comprised of ten items for the fraudulence construct and five items for the plagiarism construct as proposed by Akbulut et al. (2008), and another eight items as proposed by Karim, Zamzuri, and Nor (2009) for the construct of misuse in using information technologies by university students. A pilot sample of 125 valid responses and a test sample of 249 valid responses collected from university students in the Science Education program were subjects of factor analyses, non-parametric and invariance test methods. 16-item IADS scale was confirmed in a Romanian higher education context. A second-order factor (e-dishonesty), and three dimensions of first-order factors (plagiarism, fraudulence, and misuse in using information technologies (IT)) were validated. Plagiarism was the most important factor, followed by fraudulence and misuse in using IT. E-dishonesty practices dimensions not varied depending on the sociodemographic profile of undergraduates. The case study research provided a significant contribution to the understanding of ethical Internet behaviors and to generate an appropriate tool to measure the e-dishonesty practices among undergraduates learning science education subjects. Keywords: academic dishonesty, bi-factor models, fraudulence in using IT, human behavior, plagiarism in using IT, misuse in using IT, Science Education, university students.

IoTSim‐Edge: A simulation framework for modeling the behavior of Internet of Things and edge computing environments

SummaryWith the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing paradigms, billions of IoT devices are being networked to support data‐driven and real‐time decision making across numerous application domains, including smart homes, smart transport, and smart buildings. These ubiquitously distributed IoT devices send the raw data to their respective edge device (eg, IoT gateways) or the cloud directly. The wide spectrum of possible application use cases make the design and networking of IoT and edge computing layers a very tedious process due to the: (i) complexity and heterogeneity of end‐point networks (eg, Wi‐Fi, 4G, and Bluetooth); (ii) heterogeneity of edge and IoT hardware resources and software stack; (iv) mobility of IoT devices; and (iii) the complex interplay between the IoT and edge layers. Unlike cloud computing, where researchers and developers seeking to test capacity planning, resource selection, network configuration, computation placement, and security management strategies had access to public cloud infrastructure (eg, Amazon and Azure), establishing an IoT and edge computing testbed that offers a high degree of verisimilitude is not only complex, costly, and resource‐intensive but also time‐intensive. Moreover, testing in real IoT and edge computing environments is not feasible due to the high cost and diverse domain knowledge required in order to reason about their diversity, scalability, and usability. To support performance testing and validation of IoT and edge computing configurations and algorithms at scale, simulation frameworks should be developed. Hence, this article proposes a novel simulator IoTSim‐Edge, which captures the behavior of heterogeneous IoT and edge computing infrastructure and allows users to test their infrastructure and framework in an easy and configurable manner. IoTSim‐Edge extends the capability of CloudSim to incorporate the different features of edge and IoT devices. The effectiveness of IoTSim‐Edge is described using three test cases. Results show the varying capability of IoTSim‐Edge in terms of application composition, battery‐oriented modeling, heterogeneous protocols modeling, and mobility modeling along with the resources provisioning for IoT applications.