Youth and the virtual personality of our times – a new dimension of „becoming one self” or the destruction of identity? Reflection on the canvas of selected sources

Abstract

The article presents the main problems related to the formation of the identity/personality of young people. The author puts forward a thesis about the close connection between on-line and off-line personalities, while pointing out that the new media constitute an autonomous source of threat to the development of the young generation. She indicates that this is due to both: the dark side of the virtual personality and its domination in the proces of becoming a person. She recalls several studies (E. Aboujaoude, M. Spitzer, G. Small, G. Vorgan) confirming thesis about the different significance (positive or negative) of the Internet/new media for the personality development. In the final conclusion, she points to the need to reflectively control their influence on the development of young people’s personality.