Accounting for adolescent pathways into cyber-deviance in a digital world

• In Event: Youth pathways into cybercrime: Results from the South Australia Digital Youth Project

Abstract

Digital technologies, particularly the Internet, play a significant and increasingly central part in adolescent life. To date, however, little research has explored the relationship between a young person’s digital engagements and pathways into crime (particularly cyber-deviance). This empirical study addresses this gap, by elucidating the significance of an adolescent’s digital engagements (alongside other developmental considerations) in predicting cyber-deviance. In particular, it scrutinizes the degree to which an adolescent’s relative access to technologies, digital literacy, exposure to the internet and interactional opportunities drive various forms of cyber-deviance (hacking, piracy, cyber-bullying, cyber-violence, amongst others). Drawing on cross-sectional data collected from a cohort of grade 8 students (n=1921) enrolled in South Australian secondary schools, the results demonstrate the utility of these concepts. They also show that whilst pervasive, cyber-deviance amongst pre- and early teenagers are unlikely to correspond with serious criminal involvements, with such activities typically being episodic and for the most part trifling. Finally, the results further underscore the need for deeper understanding of the significance of digital technologies when accounting for youth pathways into crime.

Authors

• Russell Brewer, University of Adelaide

• Jesse Cale, University of New South Wales

• Tyson Whitten, University of New South Wales

• Thomas Holt, Michigan State University

• Andrew John Goldsmith, Flinders University