Addressing Internet risks: overlap and prevention programs in the digital age

The widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and their continuous growth worldwide has led to a change in interpersonal communication during adolescence. The positive role of ICT is undeniable; however, their use also entails numerous new challenges and potential risks, including cyberbullying, online dating violence, cyber deception, or problematic use of social networks.

This symposium aims to address issues relevant to internet risks through four presentations. The first presentation will emphasize the overlap of some of the mentioned risks and their relationship with health variables such as health-related quality of life. This comprehensive and complex view of internet risks and their overlap should be acknowledged and inform the creation of intervention programs targeting adolescents. The following two presentations will present the results of two internet risk prevention programs based on this vision: the Safety.net program and the DOMINUS program. Both programs seek to address relational risks (such as cyberbullying or sexting) and dysfunctional use of technology (such as problematic internet use) among compulsory secondary education students. Finally, since the programs are primarily aimed at adolescents, the last presentation will focus on parents and what they can do. In this regard, various parental mediation strategies regarding technology use will be analyzed through a systematic review. In other words, how parents can mediate through different strategies in the way their children use social networks (restriction, monitoring, enabling) to prevent several of the aforementioned issues. In conclusion, the symposium aims to offer a comprehensive view of the challenges we must address regarding the use of technology.