Abstract:

The continuous social, political, economic, cultural and educational changes occurring at a world level in recent years are examined by many sciences with different starting points and aims.

Social Pedagogy as a structured interdisciplinary field has played an important role internationally in change and the reformation of educational and social systems, having as its central priority the management of change, by adopting holistic approaches and seeking unity of theory and practice as well as developing mainly preventative and intervening actions. Social Pedagogy demonstrates strong reflexes in addressing social and educational problems, considering cognitive, psychological, social, cultural, economic, political, technological and other parameters, which define and shape its respective strategies.

The issue of internet use -especially by students- and internet addiction fall into the category of new and escalating contemporary problems that Social Pedagogy is called upon to face.

In this paper, we present research conducted in Greece which is based on systemic methodology, aimed at examining the phenomenon of internet use and addiction with respect to human systems and especially to students of primary education, within a sociopedagogical context.

The Internet is a complex and nonlinear system in constant interaction with human systems. This interaction shapes many of the areas of human activity, thus changing the social hypersystem, within which all other subsystems operate. The research questions that emerge from the interaction of two complex and nonlinear systems such as humans and the Internet are inadequately addressed through merely linear research tools. The complexity created by the relationships and interactions between several factors of the subsystems can rather be addressed through a model comprising multiple correlations and paths, which may be built primarily via computer modeling.

Therefore, in order to study the phenomenon of Internet use and addiction of students of primary education, we created a research model appraising on one hand motivation for using the Internet and on the other motivation the addiction to it. The model was based on the Systemic Methodology of Uses and Gratifications, which is derived from the Uses and Gratifications Theory (U.G.T). The model examines the possible direct and indirect links and correlations between the factors that shape human-informative systems interaction.

The relevant methodological framework traces all the effects of subsystems that affect the system the user operates and lays special emphasis on sociological factors, psychological and biological predispositions and environmental conditions that influence the needs of people. The research model regards internet and users as two dynamic nonlinear systems of continuous interaction.

The results of this study indicate that the most important predictors of Internet addiction do not lie with demographic data or variables concerning individual differences or Internet exposure. In contrast, predispositional factors (namely self-efficacy and anxiety), motivation for using the internet and involvement (i.e. mental, emotional, interactive) emerge as the most significant indicators.

Most research related to the interaction between humans and the internet focus on the repercussions of excessive use of the internet on the biological, psychological and social subsystems of people. The conclusions stemming from our research, which explore the underlying factors of addictive behaviour, create new research interests, prospects and opportunities for novel interpretations.

All these offer new sociopedagogical directions in the design of educational and social policy, mainly through the strengthening of emotional and social skills of internet users, particularly children.

Keywords:

Social Pedagogy, Human System, Informative System, Internet addiction, Uses and Gratifications Theory, Social Informatics.