Men's Viewpoint on the Social Perception of Female Internet Addicts During the Therapy Process. Research on Youths in Their Adulthood

SUMMARY: Aim: The social perception of Internet addiction is growing as people become more aware of risky behaviours. This is especially true when it comes to behavioural addictions. In the case of technological addictions, there has been a consistent increase in the average rating of severity, indicating a shift in social opinion towards recognising it as a serious issue. Gender plays a significant role in shaping these attitudes, with men being generally more tolerant of problematic behaviour, whereas women show a more restrictive attitude. Methods: The study used the method of analysis and synthesis of professional literature, the semantic differential and the analysis of statistical data. Results: In our own research on female Internet addicts undergoing therapy, we used the semantic differential method developed by C.E. Osgood to investigate perceptions. We found significant differences in the ways that male respondents (N=100) in the control and treatment groups evaluated the characteristics of female Internet addicts related to decisiveness, strength of character, behavioural autonomy as well as interpersonal relationships. Conclusion: The research done with the use of semantic differential brought interesting results. The analysis of the obtained results revealed differences in the perception of women undergoing Internet addiction therapy in the individual groups of surveyed men. Originality: Both the conducted research as well as the study presented in the literature on the subject contribute to the recognition of the mechanism of perceiving of women addicted to the Internet and can become a starting point in effective prevention of addiction and in the formulation of social policy to prevent stereotyping of the life of addicts, including women.