Funcionalidad familiar y consumo de internet en estudiantes de la Unidad Educativa Zoila Esperanza Palacios, Cuenca – Ecuador. Periodo septiembre 2024 – Febrero 2025

Abstract

Family functionality is key to the organization and harmony within the family, as it facilitates the effective resolution of conflicts (Freire and Flores, 2023). However, being an open-type system, it can be affected by various factors, including excessive internet use among adolescents, which can lead to addiction and impact their individual and family development.At the "Unidad Educativa Zoila Esperanza Palacios," it has been identified that students spend a large portion of their time on the internet, decreasing family interaction and respect for rules.Additionally, during breaks, they prefer using mobile devices rather than socializing with their peers. This issue has been reported by parents and teachers to the DECE department, highlighting the need to analyze its impact on family dynamics. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the relationship between internet use and family functionality in the students of this public institution.Using a quantitative approach, the FF-SIL and the "Internet Consumption and Family" survey were applied to 114 students. Statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS. The results showed that most of the respondents come from moderately functional families. Regarding internet usage, 96.5% spend between 3 and 10 hours daily, mainly on social media. It was found that the greater the family functionality, the lower the internet consumption, while greater family dysfunction is associated with excessive use, emphasizing the influence of the family environment on the digital habits of adolescents.