As children spend more and more time on electronic devices and social networks,
there is a growing concern about the infuence that these activities may have on their
development and social well-being. In this context, the present research is aimed
at analysing the infuence that Internet use may have on 6th grade primary school
students’ academic performance in Spain. In order to do so, we have employed a
methodological approach that combines econometric and interval multiobjective
programming techniques, which has let us identify the traits and Internet use patterns that allow students to maximise their academic performance in terms of scores
in four competences. Our results show that, while daily use of the Internet to listen
to music or search for information about other topics of interest can favor the maximization of educational outcomes, the use of social networks should be limited as
much as possible to avoid hindering the educational process.
