Working Paper Series

Abstract: Recent studies on the use of Internet among youngsters suggest problematic behaviour and adverse impacts on overall health as there are uncharted boundaries of information and media through Internet. Such related problems include Internet addiction, shyness, alienation, psychological distress and academic performance decrement over time. As a consequence, the ability of students in tertiary education to communicate effectively and interact humanly could deteriorate as they become more accustomed to networking via Internet. However, students nowadays do increasingly rely on the Internet to perform research under the knowledge-based economy despite concerns over reliability and truthfulness of information available from Internet. There are a role and values of Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) for an optimal use of Internet. With reference to an interdisciplinary review, we suggest an interventionist approach to orient students in tertiary education to develop a strategic mindset that exploits Internet as a source for developing knowledge about learning outcomes while mitigating the risks associated with over-reliance and inadequate uses.