THE ESSENCE OF THE PHENOMENON OF «INTERNET ADDICTION» OF TEENAGERS AND THE CONTENT OF THE CONCEPT THAT DENOTES IT

The article is devoted to the analysis of the essence of the phenomenon and concept of «Internet addiction» among teenagers. Different approaches to defining the concepts of «addiction» and «Internet addiction» are considered. Deficiencies in definitions of the concept of Internet addiction were found. Most of the existing definitions of the phenomenon of addiction relate its essence to a compulsive need, thereby mistakenly emphasizing only the innate / biological determinants of addiction. The analysis was carried out using such research methods as generalization and comparison. The article states the causes of various types of adolescent addictive behavior. The types of motivation of Internet addicts are highlighted and the classification of the main types of Internet addiction is considered. It was found that all the listed types of motivation for spending time on the Internet directly correspond to the vital (that is, basic) and social needs of a person. But a teenager and even an adult do not understand that such activities on the Internet only compensate, but do not satisfy these needs. The essence of Internet addiction and the reasons why teenagers spend their time on the Internet, despite the harmful consequences for their physical, mental and emotional health, are highlighted, which becomes a threat to the teenager’s ability to self-organize in adult life. As a result, the teenager increasingly wants to escape from his own problems in virtual reality. And since an addicted person does not have developed self-control, he is unable to solve his problems on his own. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to create a system of social work that will work in the directions of diagnosis, prevention and correction.