EXCESSIVE INTERNET USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS ON THE CONTINUUM FROM NORMATIVE TO RISKY BEHAVIOUR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2956-333X/2026-6-2Keywords:
adolescence, adolescent leisure, excessive internet use, digital behavior, normative use, risky use, peer arena, compensatory function, preventive pedagogyAbstract
The present study examines excessive internet use in the context of adolescent leisure. It seeks to clarify the boundary between normative and risky digital behavior by arguing that the decisive criterion is not the intensity of digital exposure, but the function that online activities serve in adolescents’ non-school time. Specifically, the article asks whether these activities support meaningful social participation or assume a compensatory role when the offline environment is insufficiently structured, boredom occurs, or psychological discomfort is present. The empirical component is based on a school-based cross-sectional survey of 397 adolescents in the Ústí Region. It examines their leisure activities, the structure of their online engagement, and the mechanisms through which normative behavior may move toward risk, combining quantitative description with a functional interpretation of what each activity means for adolescents. The findings indicate that demographic and contextual criteria alone cannot reliably distinguish normative from risky use. They instead highlight the central role of adolescent leisure as a preventive domain, since the quality of this domain helps determine whether digital activity becomes a source of development or turns into a compensatory pattern that may threaten psychological well-being. By integrating leisure pedagogy, the psychology of online behavior, and preventive pedagogy, the article develops a functional framework with concrete implications for educational practice. The findings suggest that only meaningfully structured time grounded in genuine relationships can serve as an effective safeguard against excessive internet use.
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