Feathers Of The Cognitive Sphere In Adolescent Internet Users

Abstract

This paper explores cognitive functions of adolescents with various online activity on the Internet. The study involved 100 adolescents (Moscow, Russia). The adolescents were divided into groups: 11-13 years old (N = 50), and 14-16 years old (N = 50). Specially selected neuropsychological methods were used to study cognitive functions. All the adolescents were divided into groups according to the criterion of varying degrees of online activity's intensity: low (33%), medium (31%), controlled high (19%) and uncontrolled high (17%) intensity of Internet use. The adolescents with the average level of Internet use in comparison to the other groups showed better results in such neuropsychological characteristics as programming and control, visual spatial memory, selectivity of auditory verbal memory, verbal intelligence and erudition. The lowest results in these characteristics were shown by the adolescents from the groups with the high level of online activity. When comparing the younger and older adolescents, the same pattern remained in the younger group. When undergoing neuropsychological tests, the adolescents aged 11-13 years with the average level of user activity were more productive than the adolescents with low and high online activity. In the group of the older adolescents, this pattern was absent. In this regard, it can be concluded that the younger an adolescent is, the more the development of his/her cognitive functions depends on the amount of time he/she spends online. In this study, some optimum time spent by the adolescents on the Internet was observed. When that optimum time frame provided, higher rates of certain cognitive functions' development are present, especially among the adolescents from the younger age group.