Preventive Intervention Programmes for Problematic Internet Behaviours

Like any kind of progress, increasing dependence on the internet as an avenue for social interaction and entertainment has led to a host of problematic internet behaviours. These negative consequences are especially worrying among adolescents born in the digital age, many of which lack the necessary skills to responsibly maximise and regulate their use of the internet. This leads to the development of problematic internet behaviours such as excessive use of the internet, excessive online gaming, and online pornography viewing, among many others. This research sought to investigate the association between online caming and online pornography impact among adolescents. Secondly, it examined the effects of intervention programmes to prevent excessive and problematic internet use in relation to behavioural problems. This article shares evidence-based findings and strategies underpinned psychological approaches to sustain healthy and positive digital well-being among youths in Malaysia. To fulfil the research objectives, a national survey was conducted to collect prevalent data on online gaming and online sex/pornography viewing, as well as its social and psychological impact among adolescents. In addition, two practical manuals have been developed for intervention programmes to prevent excessive and problematic internet use in relation to behavioural problems. These manuals target problematic/excessive online gaming, problematic/excessive online sex/pornography viewing, and family systems support. The main finding of this research project indicate moderate to high positive correlations between problematic online gaming and aggression, as well as moderate to high positive correlations between adolescent well-being and perceived social support. other than that, the effectiveness of the developed Psychological Intervention Programme - Excessive Online Gaming for Youth (PIP-OG-Y) was shown by significant decreases in levels of problematic online gaming at the end of the programme. Effectiveness of Psychological Intervention Programme - Online Pornography Viewing for Youth (PIP-OP-Y) was also shown through significant decreases in levels of online pornography viewing and significant increases in levels of adolescent well-being and perceived social support. Take together, the findings showed efficacy of the developed programmes in ameliorating symptoms of online gaming and online pornography viewing.