Examining the effectiveness of the "improving me" program on problematic internet use in high school students

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the 10-session "Improving Me" Group Intervention Program for high school student adolescents who are in the risk group for problematic internet use. The research was carried out with an explanatory mixed design, one of the mixed methods. In the quantitative part of the research, matched experimental and control groups of eleven people were formed in the experimental design with pretest-posttest control groups. "Improving Me" group intervention program was applied to the experimental group. In the research, follow-up sessions and focus group interview were held with the participants in the experimental group one month after the experimental process. The quantitative findings of the study revealed that the "Improving Me" intervention program had a significant effect on reducing students' internet use level. Qualitative findings showed that students gained awareness about their internet usage levels and purposes, and started to use the internet more consciously and efficiently in their lives. All findings reveal that the "Improving Me" group intervention program is an effective program to prevent problematic internet use in high school adolescents.