Vulnerabilities of young people in the virtual environment

Abstract

Since 2000, when social networking first emerged, some 22 years of theory and research in the field have reported on the impact of social networking on today's generation of young people, both in terms of the positive and negative effects of its use.
This article provides a brief review of some of the research that shows the negative effects that social networks can have on users: Stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, negative mood, reduced ability to be fully engaged in the present moment, reduced productivity and success in work, education and other areas of life, unhealthy sleep, decreased attention, tendency to use emotion-focused coping to cope with stress, emotion- focused coping instead of choosing problem-focused coping strategies, unhealthy food choices, etc. It should be noted that the high presence of young people and others online is also associated with a wide range of risks, such as the possibility of becoming victims of fraud/scams, to serious forms such as disclosing private matters, sexual abuse.
A history of the evolution of social media networks is presented in the article; social media networks such as MySpace, Hi5, MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, WeChat, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Telegram were analysed.
Also, starting from the fact that the issue of ensuring children's safety online has been a constant concern of parents, national authorities and international institutions, the authors present a series of solutions to achieve this goal in practical terms: through a combination of normative documents (laws, conventions etc.), and through the use of the Internet); improving law enforcement's ability to identify situations of abuse; technological solutions, best practice standards or awareness-raising campaigns about the risks of children being online in schools, with parents and through various media channels.