Young People, the Internet, and Emerging Pathways into Criminality: A Study of Australian Adolescents
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Date
2018-10-21
Authors
Brewer, Russell Colin
Cale, Jesse
Goldsmith, Andrew John
Holt, Thomas
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Zenodo
Rights
© 2018 International Journal of Cyber Criminology (Diamond Open Access Journal).
Rights Holder
International Journal of Cyber Criminology
Abstract
This article explores the ways in which young people experience the Internet as a potentially criminogenic medium. To date, little research has explored the possible links between the mundane, ubiquitous use of digital communication technologies by young people and involvement in delinquency in online contexts. The current empirical study seeks to address this gap, by investigating how a young person’s digital pursuits (i.e. relative access, technical competencies, and exposure to pertinent technologies, Internet sites and services), as well as various developmental considerations, are linked to delinquent online encounters – be they tentative engagements of a naïve or non-criminal kind or deliberate, more serious forms of technologically-mediated criminality. Drawing on data collected from a cohort of adolescents enrolled at a secondary school in a large Australian city, the results establish significant relationships between many of these concepts, but also flag that online delinquent encounters amongst young adolescents are unlikely to correspond with serious criminal involvements, with such activities being episodic and for the most part trifling. The results further highlight the need for a better understanding of the role of digital communication technologies on pathways into cybercrime.
Description
© 2018 International Journal of Cyber Criminology (Diamond Open Access Journal). Under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License
Keywords
Adolescents, Cybercrime, Digital Drift, Matza, Pathways into Crime
Citation
Brewer, R., Cale, J., Goldsmith, A., & Holt, T. (2018). Young People, The Internet, And Emerging Pathways Into Criminality: A Study Of Australian Adolescents. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1467853