Determination of academic achievement, internet usage, addiction and virtual environment loneliness level relationships in science

Due to the conditions of our age, the internet has become indispensable and has reached the level that almost everyone can reach in one touch. But this ease of access at one touch has brought advantages as well as disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is internet addiction. This addiction, which is the virtual world, most affects people at a young age. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the internet usage of young people. As a result of young people's uncontrolled use of the internet, a culture of social isolation has formed among themselves. The digital natives of this culture have also begun to address their communication needs via the internet. When intensive internet use and the goal of communicating through virtual networks come together, our young people of our age, our digital natives, have become disconnected from real life. While this virtual world may seem like an escape hatch for young people, they are just as lonely here as they are in the real world. Individuals who seek the cure for this loneliness in the virtual world are becoming increasingly addicted to the internet. While the internet may seem like a lifeline for internet-addicted individuals, the situation is not at all what it seems.Decreasing academic achievement with increasing addiction prevents young people. However, today it has become so easy to access the internet that students can easily access the internet even in schools. From this point of view, it is important to stay safe in the face of the internet. Along with the revamped training curriculum, some qualification areas were added to cover each attainment. Proficiency areas have also been added to the renewed science course curriculum. One of them is digital competence. In this field, it is aimed that students use communication and information technologies in a correct, appropriate and productive way. Digital competence in the curriculum is seen as an ability that applies to all science gains. The digital competence involved in the curriculum is similar to information and media literacy. One of the Twenty-First Century skills, it expects students to be conscious, critical and productive individuals in tools such as the internet, virtual networks, communication channels. Situations such as internet addiction, virtual environment loneliness await young people as dangers for areas of competence and skills. The target group of this study is 6., 7. and 8. the class consists of students. The aim of the study is to determine the internet addiction, virtual environment loneliness levels, science academic achievement and the relationship between them. The distinction is to determine the use of the internet in science. The data in the research were collected from the public schools in Bornova District of Izmir using the internet dependency scale, virtual environment loneliness and internet usage purpose data form in the science course. The total size of the sample was 386 students and was a quantitative study in the nature of survey research. The number of students identified as having a high level of internet addiction in the study is 62. As a result of the research, it was found that students had high academic achievement and suffered relatively virtual loneliness. In the course of Science, the internet is most used for accessing information and doing research. As a result, the fact that the internet is easily accessible has brought problems. It is available to those who use the internet in a way that poses problems other than those who use the internet for its purpose. Therefore, it is necessary not to leave young people alone with the negative effects of the internet in order to use the internet safely and properly. Otherwise, it is inevitable that students will fail in the digital competence they want to acquire.