Problematic Internet Use and Its Social, Academic and Behavioural Implications among Adolescents in Urban Haryana: A Sociological Investigation

Abstract: “Internet access has become an integral part of adolescent life, influencing education, communication, recreation, identity formation and participation in peer culture. Smartphones, social-networking platforms, online games, streaming services and digital learning applications provide adolescents with significant opportunities for acquiring information, maintaining relationships and developing digital competencies. However, persistent, poorly regulated or compulsive internet engagement may interfere with everyday functioning and produce adverse social, academic and behavioural consequences. This condition is commonly described as problematic internet use (PIU). This conceptual paper examines PIU among adolescents in urban Haryana from a sociological perspective. It draws upon Uses and Gratifications Theory, Social Learning Theory, Displacement Theory, Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, Bourdieu's concepts of capital and social reproduction, and Symbolic Interactionism.The paper conceptualizes PIU not merely as an individual psychological weakness or a function of screen time, but as a socially situated pattern shaped by family relations, peer-group expectations, school environments, class position, gender norms, digital inequalities, commercial platform design and broader cultural change. The paper concludes that responses should combine digital literacy, parental mediation, school-based support, platform accountability and accessible counselling without stigmatizing adolescents or treating all digital engagement as harmful.