Effect of Parents, Elder Sibling, and School on Adolescent’s Online Activity and Internet Anxiety

The increasing adoption of online content in education requires adolescents to be frequent internet users. The use of the internet among school-going children has led to problematic internet use (PIU) and internet addiction. Most parents are warned about these adverse effects and are usually advised to monitor the activities of their child. Previous studies have shown the positive effect of parental monitoring in controlling addiction. However, studies show that high levels of parental control cause anxiety among the students. Thus, schools need to be careful when adopting online learning elements. Our exploratory study shows that although monitoring was associated with decreased time spent online, it was also linked to higher internet anxiety. This effect was further found to be dependent on schools. Therefore, parents and schools need to work on promoting healthy internet use among adolescents. These findings emphasize the importance of striking a balance between monitoring and allowing autonomy for adolescents in their internet use.