The Impact of the Internet on Teenager's Behaviour: A case study in Oman

Recently, the emergence of advanced technology has impacted on all aspects of our lives; it has had both positive and negative consequences. As can be seen currently, the evolving technology can have a strong impact on people's lives, and especially if they are teenagers, as they are vulnerable to change, and it can affect them in different ways. Since they can be exposed to different types of victimization online, much research has been done in this area in order to find out about behavioural internet usage among teenagers. This study aims to explore to what extent the internet can affect the behaviour of Omani teenagers (e.g. through harassment, sensual and inappropriate content, racist/violent material), to discover the reasons why Omani teenagers engage in these negative online activities and to recommend strategies designed to minimize participation in these activities amongst teenagers. The data was collected from school students in the Sultanate of Oman, the sample size being 500 students of both genders. The research was designed to aid in the understanding of this phenomenon of bad effects produced on the youth through certain online activities and the high-risk consequences on their behaviour, and to stress the importance of minimizing these affects. The research gaps in this area include the status of teenagers in Oman and the influence of the internet on their behaviour. The paper concludes by highlighting the main negative online behaviours among teenagers, discussing the results of engaging Omani teenagers in such behaviours and commenting on some effective solutions for curbing these high risk behaviours.