Objective: Harmful internet use may lead to disruptions in parent–child interactions and pose challenges to the cognitive developmental process of adolescents. In light of examining these impacts, the present study investigates the role of parental harmful internet use in shaping adolescents’ critical thinking and religious identity.
Method: Adopting a descriptive-correlational approach, this study targets adolescents in Isfahan city and their parents (both fathers and mothers) during the year 1402 (2023–2024). Based on Cochran’s formula, a cluster-randomized sample of 260 adolescent-parent pairs was selected. Participants completed these instruments: Ricketts’ Critical Thinking Questionnaire (2003); Khoshavi’s Religious Identity Questionnaire (1390/2011); Calvo-Francis’ Harmful Internet Use Scale (2016). Data were analyzed using SPSS software and multiple regression analysis.
Results: The study reveals that harmful internet use by fathers predicted 45.4% and mothers predicted 1.2% of the variance in adolescents’ critical thinking skills (P < 0.05). Additionally, fathers’ harmful internet use accounted for 47.1% and mothers’ use for 2.3% of the variance in adolescents’ religious identity formation (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The results indicate that harmful internet use by parents, particularly fathers, serves as a barrier to the development of both critical thinking and religious identity among adolescents. The influence of fathers’ internet habits appears significantly stronger than that of mothers. Accordingly, identifying parents involved in harmful internet use and implementing media literacy-based interventions can facilitate the development of adolescents’ critical thinking and the formation of their religious identity.