The Effects Of Children’s Basic Need Satisfaction On Their Internet Use And Affects Experienced Online: A Study From Self-determination Theory Perspective

With the rapid spread of the Internet, Internet use has become one of the most popularleisure activities among Chinese children. In order to facilitate the appropriate Internet use ofchildren, it is necessary to understand what influences children’s Internet use and their affectsexperienced online. The present study investigated why the Internet is so attractive to childrenand what protective factors may lead to children’s appropriate Internet use from aself-determination theory perspective.The present longitudinal study investigated children in Grade3~Grade6with one-yearinterval. The overall research framework was as follows:Study1investigated children’s Internet use and affects experienced online, and analyzed thecharacters and development trends of children’s Internet use and affects experienced online.Study2investigated the effects of children’s basic need satisfaction perceived online andperceived in daily life on their Internet use and their affects experienced online withcross-sectional data.Study3employed a longitudinal design, on the base of study2, to investigate the effects ofdaily-life basic need satisfaction on children’s Internet use and their affects experienced onlineover time, and to examine the causal relationships between those variables.Study4employed cross-sectional data and longitudinal data to investigate the effects ofparenting behaviors on children’s Internet use and their affects experienced online, and toexamine the mediating role of children’s daily-life basic need satisfaction.The main conclusions were as follows:1) Most of children reported expecting more time for Internet use than their actual time spent online. The top reason children use the Internet was Internet information seeking followedwith online entertainment and online communication. Most of children experienced high levelsof positive affects and low levels of negative affects online.2) Need satisfaction perceived online was an important factor that influenced children’sInternet use and affects experienced online. Children who perceived more psychological needsatisfaction online tended to spend more time online, expect more time for Internet use, use theInternet more for information seeking, and experience more positive affects online..3）Daily-life need satisfaction played a protective role in facilitating children’s appropriateInternet use, and influenced children’s Internet use and affects experienced online not only underimmediate contexts but also in a long term. Children who perceived more need satisfaction indaily life tended to spend less time online, expect less time for Internet use, use the Internet morefor information seeking, and experience more positive affects and less negative affects online.4) Parents’ parenting behaviors influenced children’s daily-life basic need satisfaction,Internet use, and affects experienced online. Children whose parents acted parenting behaviors ina more positive way tended to spend and expect less time for Internet use, use the Internet morefor information seeking and less for entertainment, and experience more positive affects and lessnegative affects when using the Internet. Parents’ parenting behavior influenced children’sInternet use and affects not only under immediate contexts but also in a long term. Children’sdaily-life need satisfaction played a mediating role in these associations.