Abstract:

As Internet use among young people increases, so do the processes of cognitive change. The question of the interaction between these two concepts is and will continue to be relevant in order to communicate successfully with young people.

The aim of the research is to describe and practically investigate how Internet use habits influence young people's cognitive styles, what is the relationship between cognitive styles and Internet use habits, and whether young people's location (home or computer classroom: limited time) influences Internet use habits, in order to provide suggestions for youth trainers on what needs to be changed in their work with young people. The theoretical part of the paper describes the theoretical aspects of cognitive, thinking styles, critical thinking, Internet use habits, coaching, including related factors and recent scientific publications. At the same time, considerable attention is given to the impact of these factors on young people. The research part of the paper is based on the results of an experiment developed by the authors. The experiment involved 201 participants - young people aged 18-30.

Research questions:
1. Is there a statistically significant difference between different cognitive styles and Internet usage habits?
2. Is there a statistically significant difference between the Internet use habits of the experimental and control groups?
3. Do Internet usage habits (navigation style, Internet search approach) have an impact on task performance?
4. Is there a statistically significant relationship between task accuracy and navigation style and information processing approach?
5. What kind of resources do adolescents use to complete tasks in the experimental and control groups, are there statistically significant differences?

The results of the research show that the most pronounced cognitive styles indicate more typical Internet use patterns. Cognitive styles do not have a statistically significant correlation with Internet use habits. Task accuracy has a statistically significant relationship with Internet use habits. There is a small effect on Internet use habits independently of which group the participants were in, experimental or control.

Keywords:

Cognitive styles, Internet use Behavior, Adolescent.