Keyword: «gaming addiction»

The relevance of this study stems from the systemic challenges of digital transformation, manifested in the total immersion of adolescents in virtual environments, with computer games playing a dominant role. The existing prohibitive and permissive strategies for regulating digital leisure are not constructive, while the risks of gaming addiction, desocialization, and reduced productive activity continue to grow. In this regard, there is an urgent need to develop pedagogical strategies aimed not at confronting digital reality, but at activating its educational and developmental potential. The purpose of this article is to identify the didactic potential and evaluate the effectiveness of using creative game-based environments (using Roblox Studio as an example) to develop digital competences and prevent destructive forms of interaction between early adolescents and the virtual environment by transforming gaming into productive project-based activities. The methodological basis was an integrative approach synthesizing the principles of competence-based, subject-activity-based, constructionist, and facilitation approaches in combination with the theory of self-determination by E. Deci and R. Ryan. In the experiment on a sample of 22 early adolescents, a combination of methods was used: a psychological and pedagogical experiment, observation, analysis of the products of creative activity, questionnaires, and interviews. The main results include: proof of the effectiveness of the methodology, manifested in a pronounced shift in the motivation of adolescents from the consumption of game content to creative activity; identification and systematization of a set of developed digital competences (3D modeling, animation, basics of Lua programming); development of a model for methodological support of the basic psychological needs of adolescents in the educational environment of Roblox Studio; presentation of a psychological and pedagogical portrait of a mentor with operational principles of activity. The theoretical significance of this work lies in the development of a prototype psychological and pedagogical technology "Digital Creation Pedagogy". Its practical value lies in the potential for implementing this methodology into supplementary education, teacher training, and parental counseling.