Evaluation of Adolescents' Perceptions of the Concept of Internet: A Metaphor Analysis Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine adolescents' perceptions of the concept of the internet through metaphors. The research is a descriptive study and based on the qualitative research method.The study group of the research consisted of 200 high school students studying in the 2021-2022 academic year. As a data collection tool in the research, the researchers used a questionnaire consisting of two parts that they prepared. The first part of this form included demographic (gender, age, school, class, etc.) questions. In the second part, “Internet is like / similar……….; because ……….” were asked to complete the statement. The data obtained from the participants were analyzed by content analysis method. In the study, 107 metaphors related to the concept of internet were obtained from adolescents. In the study, 107 metaphors related to the concept of internet were obtained from adolescents. It has been determined that the most frequently used metaphors are “book (%6.9)”, “water (%4.9)”, “cigarette (%4.4)”, “teacher (%3.9)”, “chocolate (%3.9)”. Depending on the reasons for the adolescents to explain the metaphors, 6 conceptual categories were reached: the internet as a source of happiness, the internet as an indispensable part of life, the internet that harms, the internet that gives benefits, and the internet that consumes time. It has been determined that the internet category is the most beneficial among the conceptual categories, and the internet category is the least source of happiness. In addition, when we look at the content of the meanings that adolescents attribute to the internet, it is concluded that 64% (n= 128) ascribe a positive meaning to the internet, 30.5% (n= 60) ascribe a negative meaning to the internet, and 6% (n= 12) ascribe both positive and negative meanings to the internet.