Social networks as a catalyst of intrapersonal conflicts of students in institutions of higher education

The actual ideas about the problem of virtual communication of students have been analyzed in the article. Particular emphasis is placed on social networks as activators and catalysts of students’ internal conflicts. Special attention is paid to the factors, criteria, and dynamics of dependence on social networks of students. Long-term (more than 2.5 hours) communication through social networks causes prolonged destruction and dependence on social networks. Such contacts cause negative emotions and destabilizing feeling for the personality. In this process, jealousy to other people, to their bright and rich life prevails, which causes disappointment in own values and abilities of students. In such a situation there is competition between students for resources – power, popularity, points. The research was conducted in Ukraine at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The sample was 214 students at Faculty of Cybernetics, Faculty of Psychology, the Institute of Philology, from the age of 18 to 27 years. There were 104 people in the experimental group, and there were 110 people in the control group. The research was carried out in 7 stages. The first three of them have been reflected in this article. Recommendations for the prevention of intrapersonal conflicts provoked by social networks have been created.