Technological advancements have increased the time children spend indoors, with digital devices becoming a central component of daily lives (Shao et al., 2020). Although the internet is used for reasons such as communication, access to information, and shopping, which makes people's daily lives much easier (Işik and Ayaz-Alkaya, 2017), it has also brought with it various problems, especially internet addiction (Kavici & Ayaz-Alkaya, 2024). Numerous terms, such as internet addiction disorder, pathological internet use, or internet addiction, are employed to describe excessive internet use (Abdallah & Hamdan-Mansour, 2024; Jin & Jiang, 2025). Pathological internet use can contribute to psychological problems, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, communication problems, poor social skills, and social anxiety (Ayaz-Alkaya & Akca, 2025; Kavici & Ayaz-Alkaya, 2024; Ye et al., 2023).

Social skills are essential for children's healthy development and include communicating effectively, adhering to social norms, assuming responsibility, and advocating for oneself (Mooij et al., 2020). Children with poor social skills often exhibit impaired emotional regulation, lower self-control, depression, anxiety, fear, and anger, and poor academic achievement (Mooij et al., 2020). Therefore, early adolescence is a critical period for developing social competencies and stress-coping mechanisms (Güç et al., 2022). Stress is a key determinant of children's psychological and physiological well-being, as well as their academic performance and social functioning (Whiting et al., 2021). Children with stress may turn to online games or chats to relieve feelings such as anxiety and depression, which increase the risk of internet addiction (Feng et al., 2019). Given these challenges, implementing school-based interventions is crucial for preventing pathological internet use, fostering social development, and mitigating stress among children. In this context, horticultural activities have been proposed as a promising strategy for enhancing children's psychosocial well-being (Lu et al., 2023; Shao et al., 2020).

Horticultural activities, one of the most common forms of interaction with nature, are widely practiced as leisure pursuits across various cultures (Soga et al., 2017). Horticultural activities involve structured engagement with plants and green spaces, including planting seeds, potting seedlings, arranging flowers, printing with leaves, and observing natural environments (Alexander & Grannum, 2022). These experiences foster interpersonal communication, particularly among peers with shared interests, and contribute to the development of cognitive, emotional, and social competencies, such as articulating thoughts, asking questions, maintaining attention, enhancing creativity, and expressing humor (Alexander & Grannum, 2022; Park et al., 2022).

Horticultural activities may enhance psychological well-being and reduce stress across various age groups, including people aged over 60, followed by people aged under 18 (Lu et al., 2023). The study findings showed a reduction in anxiety symptoms (Shao et al., 2020), a decrease in stress levels (Guo et al., 2024), and improvements in social skills (Chen et al., 2014), emotional intelligence, resilience, and self-efficacy (Oh et al., 2020) among children engaged in horticultural activities. However, limited empirical evidence exists on horticultural interventions targeting internet addiction among children, particularly within randomized controlled trials. In addressing the increasing concern related to internet addiction, a comprehensive understanding of its underlying causes is essential (Jin & Jiang, 2025). Several theoretical frameworks, including Social-Ecological Systems Theory, Emotion Regulation Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Self-Control Theory, are suggested to explain this phenomenon (Jin & Jiang, 2025).

The Social-Ecological Systems Theory focuses on the continual interaction between individual online addictive behaviors and the systemic environment. Interactions between systems also impact adolescent internet addiction. The Emotion Regulation Theory explains the occurrence of internet addiction behavior regarding the impact of stress, depression, and emotional discomfort. The Social Cognitive Theory encompasses facets such as self-efficacy, cognitive distortions, and decision-making, accentuating the interactive influences among behavior, environment, and personal determinants. The Self-Control Theory emphasizes the ability to manage one's thoughts and behaviors in response to external environments.

These theoretical frameworks provide a window of opportunity for targeted intervention. This study has integrated these four theoretical outlooks that explain the interactions between the individual features and social environment of the targeted group. It is thought that the scope and components of the theories can construct a framework for improving self-efficacy, decision-making, and emotion regulation skills by considering parental roles, which are crucial for preventing internet addiction and ensuring behavioral change by accentuating the interactions between the person and their environment. In this context, the authors hypothesized that horticultural activities would contribute to minimizing internet addiction in children, developing their social skills, and decreasing their perceived stress level through considering the characteristics of their social environment. Moreover, it is believed that this study would provide preliminary evidence by filling the gap in randomized controlled trial-based evidence regarding the effect of horticultural activities on internet addiction among children.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a horticultural activity program on internet addiction, social skills, and perceived stress in children.

H1

Children participating in a horticultural activity program have lower levels of internet addiction over time compared to children in the control group.

H2

Children participating in a horticultural activity program have better social skills over time compared to children in the control group.

H3

Children participating in a horticultural activity program have lower levels of perceived stress over time compared to children in the control group.