The article proves that the Internet as an institution of socialization affects the personality of users, namely: it contributes to increasing the personal activity of users, causes emotional reactions to the very fact of its existence, and contributes to the expansion of social contacts of users. An integral characteristic of Internet users is their Internet activity, which is characterized by temporary (time of stay, term) and activity (involvement in one or several activities at the same time, eventfulness) parameters. Passive, situational, active and overly active users are empirically identified by Internet activity levels. The Internet as an institution of socialization affects users differently depending on their Internet activity: it is the first in the hierarchy of socialization institutions for 1.5% of overly active users, which leads to their virtualization, prevents normal activity in real space; ranks third among the majority of situational, active and overly active users. The article notes that according to its positive impact, the Internet ranks third after the family and informal associations (estimated by respondents). A study of the expression of values in each socialization institution has shown that users increase their commitment to individual values (autonomy, achievement, power, hedonism) with the increase in their Internet activity. At the same time, with the increase in Internet activity, the share of collective values decreases (conformity, universalism, kindness, traditions). It should be noted that significant differences were found among active and overly active users compared with the other two groups. These studies cover the family, the educational environment and the Internet.