Phenomenon of Netholism in Pupils of the Second Stage of Primary Schools in Příbram Area

My thesis deals with netholism, i.e. the Internet addiction. In my opinion, this is an up-to-date issue, often underestimated by children´s parents. The results of my research may serve as an information material to all professions working in contact with children. Important symptoms present in the Internet addicts, as well as the principles of the Internet safety and the parents´ supervision over children's activities on the Internet are mentioned. There is also the existence of considerable health risks related to computers. A large chapter is related to communication on the Internet. I have stated two main objectives of my diploma thesis. Objective 1: To survey activities of children on the Internet sites in dependence on their age. Objective 2: To determine the awareness of children about the risks arising from an excessive Internet use. (The excessive use of the Internet means a period longer than 3 hours a day.) To achieve the intended objectives and the hypotheses testing, an anonymous questionnaire, the method of quantitative research was used. The subject of the investigation was the issue of the use of the Internet by children attending the second stage of primary schools. There was diversity in the concept of questions. I believe I have managed to meet the both chosen objectives of my diploma thesis. The stated hypotheses have been disproved by the questionnaire survey. Hypothesis H1: Children attending the second stage of primary school spend more than half of their time communicating via social networking sites on the Internet, this has not been not confirmed. The survey has shown that almost always only 23% of the total 175 respondents communicate with friends or unknown persons via social networking sites. Hypothesis H2: Children attending the second stage of primary school are not sufficiently informed about the risks arising from the use of the Internet, this has not been confirmed. Only 12% of children think there are no risks arising from the use of the Internet. As a contribution of my diploma thesis in the health and social field may be regarded the recognition of "netholism" as another form of addiction