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Otamuratov, R.U. (2024). Psychological characteristics of the emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users. Psychologist, 6, 105–117. https://doi.org/10.25136/2409-8701.2024.6.72593
Psychological characteristics of the emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users
DOI: 10.25136/2409-8701.2024.6.72593EDN: HAZHZEReceived: 05-12-2024Published: 05-01-2025Abstract: The subject of the study is the study of the psychological characteristics of the emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users. The object of the study is the emotional intelligence of urban and rural youth prone to Internet addiction. The author examines in detail the degree of influence of the Internet on the emotional intelligence of young people living in urban and rural environments of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and interprets the peculiarities of their manifestation of emotional intelligence from the point of view of the region. The author suggests that young people who are prone to Internet addiction may lose control of their emotions. The importance of studying the psychological characteristics of people prone to Internet addiction is primarily related to the growth of Internet users. Meanwhile, there are different approaches to the positive and negative sides of the problem, which justifies the need for its detailed study. The study used: the test "Internet addiction" by Kimberly Young in translation and modification by V.A. Loskutova (Burova); the method "Virtual identification of users of social networks" (VIPSS) by D.N. Pogorelov; the test "Emotional intelligence" by D.V. Lyusin. The Student's t-test and the method of correlation analysis were used as methods of mathematical statistics. The main conclusions of the study are that significant differences were found between urban and rural youth in terms of their propensity to Internet addiction, as well as certain differences in aspects of emotional intelligence. Thus, respondents who were not dependent on the Internet had a high level of emotional intelligence. The level of emotional intelligence was low among urban and rural citizens who use the Internet very actively and have a tendency to addiction. It was revealed that the propensity for Internet addiction among urban youth is higher than among rural youth, the difference is 99.9% (t=14,827; p≤0.05), which was observed in the subculture acceptability scale (t=1,995; p≤0.05). Regional differences were recorded in the study of respondents with general emotional intelligence (t=-4,352; p Keywords: tendency to Internet addiction, emotional intelligence, virtual environment, cyber addiction, Internet users, adoption of subculture, virtual image, urban youth, rural youth, psychological characteristicsThis article is automatically translated. Introduction
One of the main tasks of a developing society is to create conditions for the comprehensive personal development of young people who could become mentally strong and competitive citizens in all respects. In today's world, young people with a firm stance towards change and a confident outlook on the future are needed. In our rapidly developing age, every young person needs to constantly use information technology. As a result, young people have an increased interest in technology and addictive behavior, which affects their personal qualities and characteristics. Internet addiction is a behavioral disorder associated with excessive Internet use. The first study of Internet addiction problems was published in 1994 by psychologist M. Rauterberg. The concept of Internet addiction was proposed by I. Goldberg in 1995, and the empirical study of this phenomenon was initiated by K. A year ago, J. I. Goldberg showed the harmful aspects of human activity in the family, educational, social, business, financial and psychological spheres as a result of using the Internet and computer and, as a result, the appearance of behavioral disorders [26]. According to V.A. Loskutova, the main prerequisites for an Internet-addicted person are: the purely personal nature of interpersonal relationships on the Web; the possibility of anonymous social communication; the ability to use the Internet to realize dreams and fantasies; the voyeuristic aspect; the infinity of information [11]. According to K. Yang, Internet addiction is a multidimensional phenomenon that includes manifestations of escapism, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, feelings of weakness, loneliness or misunderstanding, as well as the desire for virtuality of people engaged in their work, studies or social environment, the search for novelty, constant satisfaction of desires and emotional connection (conversation, sympathy). In 2000, K. Yang founded the Online Addiction Center, where he developed a three-level model explaining the limitation of Internet use. According to this model, Internet addiction is caused by the presence of related activities; maintaining control over the consequences of one's actions and decisions; feeling emotional pleasure from the results of one's actions [19]. So, a young man finds a friend in virtual life, thanks to which he fills the basic needs that he lacks in real life. The goal is achieved by being able to compensate for any appearance of life caused by transferring a person's real life to a virtual one, hiding their real name on the Internet, demonstrating real emotions and non-existent intersections [14]. According to the classification of A.Y. Egorov, Internet addiction is one of the forms of non-chemical dependence, that is, a type of technological dependence [4]. Synonyms of the concept of Internet addiction are cyberspace addiction, online addiction, pathological Internet use, problematic Internet use [31].
Literature review
Foreign scientists who have studied the symptoms of Internet addiction and issues of interpersonal online interaction include: A. Goldberg, R. Amichai-Hamburger, M. Orzak, R. Davis [26; 30; 24]. Among the Russian scientists who have studied forms of Internet addiction, one can single out: N.A. Nosov (2000), A.E. Voiskunsky (2004); A.V. Kotlyarov (2006), V.D. Mendelevich (2007), A.Y. Egorov (2007), A.E. Zhichkin and K. Efimova (1999), Chudova (2002); L.N. Yuryeva and T.Y. Bolbot (2006). Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize one's own emotions and those of others, including regulating emotions in social situations. This is the role of emotions in a person's ability to achieve self-control based on self-awareness and self-explanation. High levels of EI are determined by four components of emotional intelligence associated with good interpersonal relationships, such as: emotion perception, emotion understanding, emotion management, and the use of emotions to stimulate thinking [29]. The problem of emotional intelligence is currently widely covered in the works of foreign psychologists (Andreeva, Bar-On, Goleman, etc.). A number of scientists such as Ibarra, D.Caruso, K.Cross, D.V.Lyusin, O.V.Luneva, J.Mayer have investigated. The study of K. Hassan and F. Sallar [28] on the emotional relationships of Internet users with Internet addiction and emotional disorders in university students. In addition, in their publications, the authors A.E. Voiskunsky and S.Turki write that a personality created in a virtual environment is aimed at "playing someone else", is associated with exploring the possibilities of one's own personality and is aimed at establishing relationships that are disappointing in real life [2]. Despite the fact that in all the analyzed works the authors address the issues of studying emotional intelligence and Internet addiction, the topic of the relationship between emotional intelligence and Internet addiction in the context of urban and rural youth of the RepublicUzbekistan has not been considered before. The lack of research in the field of emotional intelligence and Internet addiction among urban and rural youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan requires a more detailed study of these concepts, as well as the definition and interpretation of the proportion of urban and rural youth who are prone and not prone to Internet addiction in the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is worth paying attention to the study of psychological personality traits that affect changes in the level of emotional intelligence and Internet addiction of urban and rural youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The aim of the study was to empirically study the indicators of Internet addiction and emotional intelligence among urban and rural youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan. As a hypothesis of the study, it was suggested that urban youth with a high propensity for Internet addiction have lower emotional intelligence characteristics than rural youth.
Materials and research methods
One of the important components of the individual psychological characteristics of the youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan aged 18-23 years is their cognitive and intellectual abilities related to the educational process. The changes in them are both quantitative and qualitative in nature. At this age, emotional sensitivity increases, and the variety and duration of emotional reactions increases. At this time, the level of psychological protection and emotional stability also increases, the level of self-regulation and self-control develops, emotional control is facilitated, and social adaptation increases. The study objects were selected from the point of view of two groups by place of residence: the first group of urban youth and the second group of rural youth. Among them, the availability of Internet usage indicators (share, level, indicator) was studied. The empirical part of the study involved 230 Internet users of the Republic of Uzbekistan, including 119 girls and 111 young people aged 18 to 23 (M age = 20.49; SD = 7.72), rural and urban youth. Internet usage experience - from 5 months to 8 years. The study was conducted online in 2023 on an online platform https://docs.google . To study the characteristics of the emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users, three methods were used, including tests on the propensity to Internet addiction (FROM) K. Yang (Yang, 2000) adapted by V.A. Loskutova (Burova) [11]. This test consists of 20 questions and is available in two versions: Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Internet Addiction Test for Families (IAT-F). The modified version of V.A. Loskutova's questionnaire includes 40 items. The subject must answer each question according to a 5-point Likert scale. The scores on all questions are summed up to determine the final value. D.N. Pogorelov's questionnaire "Virtual identity of social Network Users" (VIPSS) was used to determine Internet addiction (Pogorelov, 2020) [15], which makes it possible to identify the presence of a virtual identity in the personality structure, identify its components and reveal the features of their influence on personality development. D.V. Lyusin's (EmIn) test (Lyusin, 2009) was used to study the level of emotional intelligence of Internet users [12]. In its structure, one can distinguish, on the one hand, intrapersonal and interpersonal EI (focusing on one's own or others' emotions), on the other hand, the ability to understand and manage emotions. The Student's t-test and the method of correlation analysis were used as methods of mathematical statistics. The SPSS 20.0 software was used as an empirical analysis of the study, descriptive statistics, reliability verification, and correlation analysis.
The results of the study
According to the Internet addiction test, In the adaptation of V.A. Loskutova (Burova), in the process of empirical analysis of the results obtained, it is necessary to determine the features and interrelationships of psychological influence on the formation of youth in cities and villages.
Figure 1 - The degree of Internet addiction according to the results of the K. Yang test
The results of Kimberly Young's Internet addiction test are shown in Figure 2. The diagram shows that urban youth have a higher level of Internet addiction than rural youth. Perhaps the large number of regular Internet users in cities compared to rural areas can be explained by the sufficient quality of convenient infrastructure among the urban population, as well as due to stress caused by man-made factors among young people, to overcome it and cope with it in various ways (Conner, 2005). It can be noted that urban youth are more interested in the Internet than rural youth. The reason for this is probably due to the presence of online clubs, cafes, and online stores, as well as excessive spending time playing online games. According to behavioral theorists, if a user perceives the Internet as an opportunity to escape reality, find love, or become a source of entertainment, then he probably uses the network only out of necessity. Such reinforcement leads to conditional use of the Internet and the continuation of the cycle, as a result of which the user has a feeling of imitation (Michael, 2005, p. 62). In our opinion, this is the main behavior of urban youth compared to rural ones.
Figure 2 - Differences in Internet addiction between urban and rural youth 2. D.N. Pogorelov's "Virtual Identity of Social Network Users" (VIPSS) test consists of three scales: "Virtual image", "Adoption of virtual subculture" and "Cyber dependence". Cyber dependence is the level of importance of social networks for a user, as well as the emergence of dependence on information and communication platforms when they are overused. A virtual image is the ease of finding and creating missing personal opportunities in real life in a virtual environment. The acceptance of a virtual subculture is the acceptance of the norms of the virtual world. D.V. Lyusin's test was used to determine the emotional intelligence of young people. In the course of modern globalization, the speed of information is spreading at the same rate in both rural and urban areas, which creates the basis for people to use the Internet. Therefore, it can be said that the desire and need to use the Internet create similarities or differences in the emotional field of people living in different regions. During the study, the respondents were divided into two groups. These groups formed a group of urban and rural youth. According to the results obtained during the study (Table 1), there was no significant difference between urban and rural groups in terms of cyberaddiction (t=1,120; p<0,05). A significant difference of 95% in terms of subculture acceptance was found between urban and rural youth groups (t=1,995; p<0,05). There was no difference in the virtual image index (t=1,033; p<0.05). The difference in understanding other people's emotions between urban and rural groups was 95% (t=-2.372; p<0.05). This may mean that the difference of 95% has become significant in terms of managing other people's emotions (t=-2.372; p<0.05). No differences were found between the groups in terms of understanding their emotions (t=-1.477; p<0.05). The level of significance between urban and rural groups on the scale of managing their emotions is 95% (t=-1.477; p<0.05). The difference in expression control was 99% (t=-2.696; p<0.05). When studying interpersonal emotional intelligence, a difference of 99% was observed between the urban group and the rural youth group (t=-3.263; p<0.05). There was no difference in the inter-group comparison of intrapersonal emotional intelligence analysis (t=-354; p<0.05). As for the level of understanding of emotions, the difference between urban and rural groups was also 99.9% (t=-3.931; p<0.05). A significant difference between the two groups was also 99.9% in terms of the emotion management index (t=-3.555; p<0.05). The fact that the difference was 99.9% when comparing the overall level of emotional intelligence of the respondents taken into the urban and rural groups proved the effectiveness of the results obtained (t=-4.352; p<0.05). Even from the point of view of the Internet addiction index, the difference between urban and rural groups was 99.9% (t=14,827; p<0.05).
Table 1 - Analysis of regional differences in the methods used in the study.
3. Interpretation of the results obtained using D.V. Lyusin's emotional intelligence test. To determine the level of emotional intelligence, it was conducted on a 10-point scale with very low, low, medium, high and very high values. Rural youth have higher overall scores in all indicators of the methodology. The lowest scores in the rural youth group were recorded on the scales: "understanding other people's emotions" (12.64%), "control of emotion expression" and "interpersonal emotional intelligence" (4.14%), as well as "interpersonal emotional intelligence" (22%) and "interpersonal emotional intelligence" (22%). The indicators "understanding one's emotions" (21.35%) and "emotion management" (14.38%) are significantly lower on the scales. But on other scales, the indicators of this group are average. The largest number of respondents have an average level of emotional intelligence (35.65%), on the scales of "managing other people's emotions" (29.19%) and "emotions" (27.67%) have an average level, on the scale of "managing other people's emotions" - 29.19%, the result on the scale of "expression control" is 48.15%. In addition to the average level of scales in this group, unlike the urban youth group, high levels of indicators prevail on many scales, for example, on the scale of "general emotional intelligence" - 3.49% of respondents. High results were recorded on the scales: "expression control" (5.66%), "emotion control" (5.45%). All this indicates that the emotional intelligence of rural youth is significantly higher than that of urban youth. In addition, respondents who are not dependent on the Internet have better self-awareness, awareness and control, as well as better awareness of other people's emotions, in relation to which they have a well-developed preventive sphere, especially self-motivation. In the next group of urban youth, it can be noted that the vast majority of respondents received low scores on all indicators of the scale. At the lowest level of emotional intelligence are the scales: "general emotional intelligence" (67.68%), "understanding emotions" (67.67%) and "interpersonal emotional intelligence" (62.63%), "understanding people's feelings" (94.95%). This is not accidental, because the topic of the negative impact of the level of aggression of Internet games on humans is currently the cause of widespread public discussion, and online computer games are considered one of the strongest factors causing Internet addiction. The level of self-awareness of a person decreases because addictive behavior leaves a certain mark in a person's life, and Internet activity becomes a part of his practical life, forcing a person to forget reality, real interpersonal communication, and work. He doesn't understand the feelings of others. However, on the scales of "expression control" and "emotion control", urban youth showed mostly average results (47.47% and 28.3%, respectively). As for the high level, there are very few such indicators in this group. If 16.16% of respondents have a high level on the "expression control" scale, then the percentage of high indicators on other scales is very small (from 0.00% to 10.1%). These results indicate a general decrease in the level of emotional intelligence of urban youth. If we compare the level of the scale of general emotional intelligence in both groups, we can see that average scores prevailed among rural and urban youth. However, if the average and low levels are the main ones for the urban youth group (51.6% and 41.4%, respectively), then the rural youth group is almost 3 times higher than the urban one (0% and 3.49%, respectively) in terms of the number of high indicators. To study the relationship between all the scales considered (in two groups), a correlation analysis was performed. According to the correlation results, it was found that there is a negative relationship between the two groups with signs of expression control (r=-,236; p<0.035*). It was revealed that there is a negative relationship between the main group and the control group for Internet addiction with 99% confidence (r=-.294; p<0,008**).
Discussion of the results
The psychological characteristics of the emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users in the Republic of Uzbekistan have significant differences. The study confirmed the hypothesis that urban youth with a high propensity for Internet addiction have lower emotional intelligence characteristics than rural youth. It was revealed that rural youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who are not dependent on the Internet, have a higher level of emotional intelligence. As a result, the emotional control of rural youth is also higher than that of urban youth. Urban youth in the Republic of Uzbekistan had a high level of Internet addiction, while in rural areas this indicator is low. Young people who spend a lot of time on the Internet have a low level of emotional intelligence, while young people who are not dependent on the Internet have a higher level of emotional intelligence. At the same time, as the researcher of emotional intelligence Ya.V. Svilo writes, the level of emotional intelligence can be increased and developed, which in turn will improve such important indicators as: interaction with others, life satisfaction, achievement of life success (Svilo, 2000, p. 5). The data obtained indicate that the level of indicators of emotional intelligence is higher among rural youth than among urban youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Among the limitations in the work are: 1) presentation of the results of the study of urban and rural youth, which were conducted within the framework of one national republic, such as Uzbekistan; 2) insufficient knowledge of the psychological characteristics of emotional intelligence and Internet addiction of urban and rural youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan; 3) lack of a solid sample experiment, which provides an opportunity for further research on the emotional intelligence of young Internet users.
Conclusion This study reveals the psychological characteristics of the emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users. In the theoretical aspect, the definitions of the central concepts of "Internet addiction" and "emotional intelligence" were considered. Under the concept of "Internet addiction" It was understood to be a behavioral disorder associated with excessive Internet use. The definition of "emotional intelligence" was the ability to recognize one's own emotions and those of others in order to achieve self-control based on self-awareness and self-explanation. As a result of comparing the features of emotional intelligence, it was revealed that urban youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan have a higher propensity for Internet addiction than rural youth, probably due to the spread of various modern information technologies in the city, the availability of Internet cafes and computer game clubs, as well as a high-quality Internet network. Despite the high level of emotional intelligence characteristics among the Internet-dependent youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the indicators of their interpersonal emotional intelligence and the level of abilities (managing their own emotions and controlling their expression, understanding and managing the emotions of other people) they remain at a low level. The fact that the level of understanding of emotions and their management among the youth of the Republic of Uzbekistan, prone to Internet addiction, is low, may indicate that the level of Internet-dependent behavior in order to find ways out of stress is caused by man-made factors. The study also revealed a correlation between general emotional intelligence and the scale of Internet addiction among urban and rural youth in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Thus, it has been established that the level of emotional intelligence of young people who are addicted and use the Internet for a long time is very low. This confirmed the hypothesis of the study. The data obtained is of practical importance, as it can be used in advisory work with Internet-addicted youth. It also has practical implications for the Internet-addicted population as a whole. Further research on this topic may be devoted to the study of the gender characteristics of urban and rural Internet users. It is necessary to analyze in more detail the correlation between gender characteristics and emotional intelligence of urban and rural Internet users of the Republic of Uzbekistan. References
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