ADVANTAGES AND RISKS OF SOCIALIZING YOUNG PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET

The aim of the paper is to highlight the advantages and risks of socializing children and adolescents in cyberspace. The reason is that there are currently many questions about what impact on socialization of children and young people has life in network. Often, one-sided views emphasizing one or the other point of view are presented. Digital technologies have created "new media", computers, tablets, players, mobile phones, the internet, which allow constant and immediate exchange of information. Simultaneously together with the Internet was developed cyberspace, an international virtual social environment in which children establish social relationships at a distance, literally across countries and continents, and communicate according to their own interests and preferences. At the same time, a number of new deviations occur in cyberspace. In any case, the young generation is intensively socializing on the Internet. The paper tries to name the positive and negative aspects of the virtual world and to bridge the contradictions by offering a view of the positive and negative effects of cyberspace on the young generation. It is of particular importance to show the importance of peer learning in socializing children and young people on the Internet. The methodology of the paper is based on a critical analysis of professional resources and research in the area.