&lt;p&gt;An Exploration of Middle and High School Students’ Perceptions of Deviant Behavior When Using Computers and the Internet&lt;/p&gt;

Annie J Daniel

doi:10.21061/jots.v31i2.a.2

Abstract

If the current trend continues, the use of computer technologies and the Internet will increase for teaching and education. It is urgent that researchers study computer and Internet deviance. The purpose of this study was to explore middle and high school students’ perceptions of deviant behavior when using computers and the Internet. The target population for this study was middle and high school students. The accessible population included all students who attended a middle or high school in the East Baton Rouge Parish School, which has computers that are capable of accessing the Internet (1,150 students - 575 middle school students and 575 high school students). Professor San-Yi Li of Taiwan designed the instrument used in this study. This instrument contained 66 questions and a scantron was used to record participants’ responses. From the instrument, variables were selected from five sections - 1) students demographic characteristics 2) computer-related activities 3) students perceptions of deviant behavior when using computers and the Internet 4) students perception of their peers deviant behavior when using computers and the Internet 5) students ability to use computers and the Internet. Results showed that the majority of students indicated they perceive their behavior as being not deviant when using computers and the Internet. Contrarily, the students indicated they perceive the behavior of their peers to be more deviant when using computers and the Internet. When the means of the Students Behavior Score and the Peers Behavior Score were compared, there was a significant different between the two scores. The Peers Behavior Score for deviance was much higher than the Students Behavior Score.

Highlights

The target population for this study was middle and high school students
Variables were selected from five sections - 1) students demographic characteristics 2) computer-related activities 3) students perceptions of deviant behavior when using computers and the Internet 4) students perception of their peers deviant behavior when using computers and the Internet 5) students ability to use computers and the Internet
The Peers Behavior Score for deviance was much higher than the Students Behavior Score

Summary

Introduction

Marshall McLuhan declared this quote over forty years ago. today’s technology has created many new human environments and behaviors. Deviant behaviors on the computer and the Internet are rising as technology use increases (Hollinger, 1996b; Power, 2000; Vatis, 2000). Voss (2000) referred to the Internet as “cyberworld,” which is very much like our earthly world It has highways (the World Wide Web), businesses (e-commerce), homes (homepages), schools, colleges, universities (distance learning), and it has people that travel in this world (by way of the Internet). Vatis (2000) Director, National Infrastructure Protection Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation, indicated that cybercrime is on the rise: In addition to using computers and the Internet to cheat, a few studies have been conducted to determine the types of on-line activities at colleges. The highest loss occurred in the 2000 survey (see Table 1) by theft of proprietary information ($66,708,000) and the lowest was telecom eavesdropping ($991,200)

A Review of Related Research on Students’ Computer Usage

Describe the middle and high school

Methodology

Findings

Conclusion