Genetic predictors of destructive and constructive types of digital behavior among young people

Abstract

Relevance. In the context of globalization, manifestations of extremism, negativism, aggression, asocial and dissocial behavior on the Internet tend to increase. However, biological determinants of destructive and constructive forms and transformations of users’ behavior are under debate.Intention – To study genetic predictors of digital behavior among young adults.Methodology. The study involved 115 people (51 males, 64 females) aged 18 to 22 years. In order to study the digital behavior, we used the author’s questionnaire “Strategies of digital behavior”. Molecular genetic analysis was performed through the DNA isolation from buccal epithelial cells. Statistical methods included comparative analysis, very simple structure method (VSS), principal component analysis, and ANOVA.Results and Discussion. It is shown that in most respondents active conditionally “constructive” digital behaviors prevail (45 %), active “destructive” and passive conditionally “constructive” digital behaviors are expressed almost equally (27 and 28 %, respectively). The active-destructive digital behavior is significantly more often observed in carriers of the combination of BDNF G/G, COMT G/A, and DRD2 T/T polymorphisms. For the constructive digital behaviors, neither biological determinants nor associations with the studied genes were observed.Conclusion. The above associations of COMT, BDNF, and DRD2 genes with the behavioral strategies of Internet users expand the existing knowledge about biological determinants of digital behavior.