A Psychoeducational Program to Prevent Internet abuse in Young people

Abstract

There is no doubt that the Internet has such an important and relevant role in life that we cannot reasonably believe that we want and can live without it (Unicef, 2017). Researchers working in the psychoeducational field ask schools and educators to use such technology in ways that could be productive (Thompson, 2013). Learning digital activities such as online videos and serious games can be particularly useful, for example, to improve emotional, social, and decision-making skills (Campbell et al., 2010; Albert and Steinberg, 2011). 

The authors of this paper have developed a program for middle school students aimed at the prevention of Internet abuse. The program based on serious games has been developed within a multi-regional project funded by the Ministry of Health under the CCM Call (National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) in 2018.

Here we will briefly describe the program and present the main results of its implementation that involved schools from different Regions and provinces of Italy, such as the Autonomous Province of Trento, Lombardy, Lazio, Marche and Molise.