Klaipėdos universitetas

Today’s technological advance and rapid development provide teenagers with a lot of opportunities for learning, free time and self-expression. Main factors encouraging teenagers’ risky behavior online are distinguished into internal and environmental. Internal factors are structured in accordance to the individual level, which distinguishes the significance of age characteristics, personal features and behavior problems in regard to the expression of risky actions on the internet. Environmental influence is an important factor in point of risky actions of teenagers on the internet as well. Environmental factors are structured into the levels of family, peers and school. Quality of family relations, family context and circumstance may become a factor of risky behavior online. Negative influence of peers plays a significant role during the adolescence. Social isolation experienced among peers may have coherence with teenagers’ tendency to the risky behavior online. Psychological and social school aspects, academic achievements and self-realization opportunities through school work are also distinguished as factors of such behavior. Analysis of teenagers’ risky behavior online showed that it is important to look for theoretically grounded and practically checked ways of ensuring teenagers’ safety in virtual reality.