Risky Online Behavior Research Articles

Risky online behaviors and cybercrime awareness among undergraduate students at Al Quds University: a cross sectional study

The rate of cybercrime among Palestinian university students is unknown. This study is the first to examine cybercrime awareness among Palestinian undergraduate students. A cross-sectional design was used to investigate cybercrime awareness, risky online behaviors, and the prevalence of cybercrime among these students. Participants were selected using convenience sampling. Invitations were sent via Google Forms to complete an online questionnaire. The findings revealed that a sizable proportion of participants (52.4%) had either been victims of cybercrime or knew someone who had. High-risk online behaviors included using social media for social interaction, using mobile apps, engaging in excessive social media use, and failing to report criminal activity to law enforcement authorities. The study found a lack of awareness about cybercrime, particularly regarding knowledge, perceived causes, cybersecurity measures, and emotional responses. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified significant relationships between cybercrime exposure and factors such as students' knowledge of cyberstalking and cybercrime harassment, perceptions of being threatened by cybercrime, the need for university cybercrime awareness programs, and experiences with sextortion, social media harassment, and cyberstalking. Accepting friend requests only from known individuals could reduce their vulnerability to cybercrime. Fear and indifference decreased the likelihood of being exposed to cybercrime, while anger increased the risk. Thus, incorporating cybercrime awareness program, which includes information security awareness, education, and training, into universities' overall security management strategies is critical. This will effectively reduce the risks associated with cyberattacks for students.

Risky online behavior in relation to social support, depression, and anxiety in Czech adolescents

This study examines how risky online behaviors among Czech adolescents relate to social support, depression, and anxiety. The behaviors investigated include sending videos to strangers, receiving explicit content, sharing nude photos, encountering monetary offers for meetings, and exposure to blackmail. A nationwide sample of 1095 adolescents aged 15–19 participated in a paper-pencil survey. The research utilized the Scale of Online Risky Behavior (SORB), the Social Support Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (CASSS-CZ), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) for data collection. Findings indicate the prevalence of risky online behavior: 10.8% of participants reported sending videos, 34.5% received explicit content, 11.3% shared nude photos, 9.2% encountered monetary offers for meetings, and 12.3% experienced online blackmail, with higher rates observed in females. Anxiety and depression were consistently linked to an increased likelihood of engaging in all types of risky online behavior. Parental support was negatively associated with the likelihood of sending a video of oneself to a stranger and receiving video with inappropriate sexual content, while support from friends showed no significant relationship with any risky behavior. Further research is needed to understand factors influencing risky online behavior.

The role of personality traits and online behavior in belief in fake news

The current study examines how careless online behavior and personality traits are related to the detection of fake news. We tested the relationships among accurately distinguishing between fake and real news headlines, careless online behavioral tendencies, and the HEXACO and dark triad personality traits. Poorer discernment between fake and real news headlines was associated with greater careless behavior online (i.e., greater online disinhibition, greater risky online behavior, greater engagement with strangers online, and less suspicion of others’ intentions online), as well as lower Conscientiousness, Openness, and Honesty-Humility, and greater dark triad traits. Implications for the literature as well as potential interventions to reduce susceptibility to misinformation and fake news are discussed.

Links to Cyberbullying of Risky Online Behavior and Social Media Addiction among Students in Grades 7-9 in Bangkok

Objective: This present study examined the connections regarding cyberbullying, risky online behavior and social media addiction, among 7th–9th grade students in Bangkok; Thailand. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted, using a self-report questionnaire consisting of: demographic data, cyberbullying, risky online behavior and the Social Media Addiction Screening Scale (S-MASS), involving 3,667 students.Results: Cyberbullying involvement was significantly associated with almost all risky online behaviors. The three riskiest behaviors, according to the odds ratios, were disclosing personal information (odds ratio (OR)=3.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) [2.7, 5.1]), making appointments to meet with online strangers (OR=3.0, 95% CI [2.1, 4.2]), and having conversations with online strangers (OR=2.6, 95% CI [2.3, 3.0]). Additionally, cyberbullying involvement exhibited a strong association with the high-risk category of social media addiction (OR=4.4, 95% CI [3.3, 5.8]). Furthermore, all subgroups of cyberbullying, including cyber-victims, cyberbullies, bystanders and the combined subgroups, demonstrated associations with almost all risky online behaviors. Moreover, the high risk category of social media addiction, with the combined subgroup, exhibited the highest odds ratio. Conclusion: Cyberbullying involvement was found to be associated with risky online behavior and social media addiction among middle school students in Bangkok.

Adolescents’ Online Risks and Parental Mediation in Nigerian Families: Gender in Focus

This study investigates the gender perspectives of adolescents’ online risk-taking and parental mediation in Nigerian families. Because the “the-one size fits all” relating to effective mediation of adolescents’ digital media may not apply to adolescent boys and girls in the same way. Accounting for gender differences in digital media use that lead to risky behavioral outcomes will enhance parents’ efforts in interceding their online media activities. The population for this study includes parents and students in public secondary schools in Lagos, Nigeria. The sample size for this study was 1,050 parents and their children. The questionnaire was the data collection instrument to obtain information about adolescent online media activities and parental mediation practices. The study’s findings show that girls engage in chatting with strangers and social networking more than boys, and boys engage in online gambling, online gaming and pornographic content more than girls. The findings also show that the risky online behavior of adolescent girls correlates with increased time spent on online media activities. Interventions targeted at female adolescents relating to digital media use, online media activities and risky online behavior will enhance parental efforts in interceding in their risky behaviors.

Associations between cognitive disengagement syndrome, Internet addiction, and Internet gaming disorder among medical students – A cross-sectional study

Background: Internet addiction (IA) and gaming disorder (IGD) are emerging public health concerns among youth. Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT)/cognitive disengagement syndrome has been linked with risky online behaviors, but the literature on medical students is limited. Aim: To determine associations between SCT, IA, and IGD in Indian medical undergraduates. Materials and Methods: The study included 303 medical students (ages: 18–24, 66% male). The Sociodemographic Information Form, Barkley SCT Scale, Young Internet Addiction Test-Short Form, and The Digital Game Addiction Scale were utilized to collect data. Contingency Table analyses, Mann–Whitey U-test, Chi-square test, and correlation analyses were used for analysis. Results: The prevalence of IA and IGD was 101 (33.3%) and 61 (20%), respectively. Students with IA or IGD had significantly higher SCT, daydreaming, and sluggishness scores (P < 0.01). SCT, daydreaming, and sluggishness showed significant positive correlations with IA and IGD severity (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Greater SCT symptoms demonstrated significant associations with increased risk of IA and IGD among medical students. Screening for SCT alongside IA and IGD may enable targeted interventions to promote healthy Internet use.

Digital Literacy Based on Islamic Values to Improve Risk Perception and Critical Thinking among Muslim Adolescents

Risk perception and critical thinking have become the two important cognitive skills for adolescents to possess in order to prevent risky online behavior such as spreading fake news. These skills are related to digital literacy and can be improved through training. However, most of the existing literature is in digital literacy training, online risk perception, and critical thinking by using correlational approach and conventional digital literacy training. For this reason, this research aimed to integrate Islamic values into digital training to improve risk perception and critical thinking skills among Muslim adolescents. This study hypothesized that digital literacy based on Islamic values can improve adolescents risk perception and critical thinking skills. To test this hypothesis, a pre-test post-test within experimental research design involving 112 Muslim adolescents in Surabaya was conducted. The participants were provided with digital literacy training which was embedded with Islamic values in four training sessions. The risk perception and critical thinking scale were used to measure each dependent variable. The results of data analysis using the paired sample t-test showed that there were significant differences in the scores of risk perception and critical thinking skills before and after training. Thus, the hypotheses in this study were accepted. The practical implications of the results of this study are also discussed.

Child online safety education: A program evaluation combining a randomized controlled trial and list experiments in Vietnam

With the rapid expansion of internet accessibility, children urgently need to be educated in online safety skills. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 1399 students from 22 junior high schools in Vietnam to assess the impact of an online safety program on their online behaviors. We designed our experiment to capture both the direct and spillover effects of the training program. We combined the RCT with list experiments, an indirect questioning method, to mitigate bias in the measurement of sensitive outcomes. Our impact estimates show the positive effects of the program. Specifically, participation in the program reduced students' identity disclosure on social networking sites (SNSs) by 9.3–16.8 percentage points, increased their online account security practices by 8.9–17.9 percentage points, and decreased their interactions with strangers online by 13.6–23.4 percentage points. Notably, using outcomes measured by the list experiments, we show that the program reduced sensitive and risky online behaviors by 34.7–47.0 percentage points, a result that would not have been revealed with conventional direct questioning. We also observed evidence of spillover effects on nonparticipants in the same schools. Our findings support the implementation of educational programs to enhance children's online safety.

Online rizikové správanie žiakov – aktuálne trendy a možnosti prevencie a riešenia v školách

On the one hand, children and youth are among the most numerous and active users of social media, on the other hand, they are also the most risky group due to the fact that they cannot always critically select the information that the media offers them. The Internet environment creates opportunities for the emergence of risky behavior such as cyberbullying, sexting, addictive behavior in relation to the Internet, compulsive playing of online games, intolerant and racist expressions in the Internet environment, cybersex and other forms of inappropriate behavior that can determine the insufficient development of a child. In Slovakia, as well as abroad, there is a trend of an increase in the risky behavior of pupils, which the authors of the study will point out in its introduction in the theoretical-empirical reflection. More and more experts point to the need to pay more attention to the prevention and solution of risky online behavior. In the article, we will present a model of prevention and solutions in the school environment with regard to cyberbullying of students.

Longitudinal relationships between risky online behaviors and positive technological development among early adolescents: A person-centered approach

This study investigated the longitudinal relationships between risky online behaviors and positive technological development (PTD) among Hong Kong early adolescents by using a person-centered approach. Specifically, this study attempted to identify distinct classes of early adolescents demonstrating specific patterns of risky online behaviors and any changes in class membership over time. It further elucidated the developmental trajectories of risky online behaviors and PTD among early adolescents and examined their complex longitudinal relationships. Data were collected from 453 students aged 11–15 years of seven secondary schools in Hong Kong over three time points, at 5-month intervals. At every time point, latent class analysis identified two classes of students, namely low- and high-risk classes, and most of the participants were included in the low-risk class. Latent transition analysis showed that the low-risk class exhibited higher stability over time, whereas the high-risk class exhibited lower stability over time. Those in the high-risk class were moderately likely to transition to the low-risk class. Latent growth curve models indicated that risky online behaviors among students were stable and mild but a significant decrease in PTD over time was observed. No significant differences in PTD between the two classes of students at the three time points were found.

Predictors of Online Child Sexual Abuse in a U.S. National Sample.

As technology has become increasingly integrated into the everyday lives of young people and social interactions have moved online, so too have the opportunities for child sexual abuse. However, the risk factors for online sexual abuse, and their similarities or differences with those of offline sexual abuse have not been clarified, making it difficult to design prevention strategies. Using a nationally representative online survey panel of young adults ages 18 to 28, the current study sought to identify risk factors for online childhood sexual abuse and compare their relevance and strength in predicting offline sexual abuse. The 2,639 participants, ages 18 to 28, were sampled from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel and were asked questions about 11 different kinds of technology-facilitated online sexual abuse that occurred in childhood, follow-up questions about their dynamics and offenders, and a variety of potential risk factors. Results indicated that: (1) being cisgender female, nonheterosexual, and having parents with less than a high school education emerged as important demographic predictors of online child sexual abuse (OCSA); and (2) early offline sexual abuse was the strongest predictor of OCSA, when considering both its direct and indirect effects through online risky behavior. Findings suggest that prevention programs directed at reducing risk of sexual abuse, in general, are likely to be effective against online sexual abuse, provided they also incorporate efforts to educate youth on the need to avoid risky online behaviors.

Parental mediation of online interactions and its relation to adolescents’ contacts with new people online: the role of risk perception

ABSTRACT To ensure their children's safety online, parents can utilize number of strategies, including active and restrictive parental mediation. Active mediation encompasses parents discussing and advising children about safe usage of the internet, whereas restrictive mediation means limiting children's internet usage. Both strategies aim to affect children's online behavior, especially to minimize online risks. Using a sample of 1031 adolescents aged 11–17 (54% females) and structural equation modeling, we focused on the active and restrictive parental mediation of online interactions and their connections to adolescents’ potentially risky online contacts with new people. In addition, we considered the indirect effect of parental mediation on adolescents’ behavior through adolescents’ risk perception. In this way, we captured one of the potential explanatory mechanisms through which the parental mediation's effect occurs. The results showed that restrictive mediation decreased contacts with new people by increasing adolescents’ risk perception of this activity. In contrast, active mediation had neither a direct nor indirect effect on adolescents’ online contacts. The results enrich the theory of parental mediation by showing that risk perception is an important factor to consider when researchers examine the effects of parental mediation on children's potentially risky online behavior.

Financial and Social Costs Perspective Impacts of Cybercrime in the UAE: Policy-Guidance Addressing the Problem in Piecemeal Approach

Today’s technology-driven human-society(s) country-wise are counted more than ever before where UAE-society is no exception. Tech-users here compete for comparative time-saving-options for marginalizing operating-cost. It has resulted huge data-usages, high-number of users & devices, which has attracted criminals for taking advantages, which is known as cybercrime. Addressing cybercrime, the UAE, like other countries, is not out of controlled by laws. However, laws like cybercrime for its society are not always for absolutely eliminating the crime. Thus, besides cybercrime-law in place, UAE needs piecemeal approach in practice where one department may vary from approaches of other-department. With awareness about risky online-behaviors & options, tech-users as defenders need to invest own-efforts. This study has laid out foundation of the proposal, Akim’s Model-2021, using Theory of Consumer Choice & Behaviors and Welfare Analysis. Tech-user’s actual utility-received is the sum of utility-received from awareness & own-effort and utility-received from cybercrime-law. Any changes to services-received from joint-efforts may risk tech-user to be a victim. Welfare analysis shows tech-user’s actions - awareness & own-effort, besides cybercrime-law can create Net Social-gain, which depends on tech-user’s own-actions. Tech-user’s economic-surplus is greater than government-expenses for implementation of cybercrime-law in UAE. Net-loss to the UAE is the sum of deadweight-loss and net-loss to tech-producers for underutilized resources.

Typology of Victimization against Women on Adolescent Girls in Three Contexts: Dating Offline, Dating Online, and Sexual Harassment Online.

Defining the typologies of adolescent girls in relation to different types of victimization against women could be very useful for prevention. Almost all the typologies previously elaborated on this topic define the typologies from situations of dating victimization. This study used cluster analysis to establish for the first time a typology of adolescent girl victimization against women that included dating violence offline, dating violence online, and sexual harassment online outside a relationship by means of a comparative analysis of behavior between those who had suffered this violence and the population at large. The participants were 3.532 Spanish teenage girls aged 14–18 with experience of relationships with boys. Three discrete, identifiable types were obtained: the first group (63.8%), non-victim girls; the second group (29.4%), victims of sexual harassment online outside a relationship but with a low incidence of dating victimization; the third group (6.8%), victims in the three contexts. The logistic regression analysis showed that risky sexual behavior online was the main risk condition for inclusion in the second and third groups (compared to the non-victim group), followed by low self-esteem (for the second group) and age (for both groups). Other variables that also contributed to predicting membership victim groups were health complaints, feminine gender role stress, justification of male dominance and violence, visiting risky websites, and problematic internet use. These results show the importance of including the prevention of such problems in order to eradicate violence against women in adolescence who have grown up with digital technologies.

Nonconsensual Distribution of Intimate Images: Exploring the Role of Legal Attitudes in Victimization and Perpetration.

In the last 10 years, following widespread outcry among legal scholars and activists, 48 states passed legislation explicitly criminalizing the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (NCDII) or what is colloquially known as "revenge porn." This increased authority granted to criminal justice agencies, coupled with greater media attention to NCDII incidents, may have influenced patterns of victimization and perpetration. Using a survey recently distributed to a sample of young adults (N = 713), we find that NCDII perpetration is strongly related to previous victimization, risky online behaviors, and receipt of unsolicited images. Perceptions of police efficacy in addressing NCDII issues is the strongest predictor of attitudes toward both reporting victimization and the belief that perpetrators will experience some punitive consequence. We also conducted an experiment using vignettes with gender varying victim-offender dyads to explore how gender bias influences attitudes toward punishment for NCDII perpetrators as well as perceptions of "revenge porn" in incidents involving same-sex and mixed-sex couples; we find that respondents are less likely to attribute "revenge porn" or to suggest punitive responses when the perpetrator is female regardless of the gender of the victim. Importantly, we find initial evidence of a new typology of NCDII perpetrator that counters existing research on victim-perpetrator gender dyads: women who nonconsensually disseminate unsolicited intimate images sent by men. Collectively, our findings challenge the efficacy of existing criminal statutes, identify new challenges in effectively legislating against NCDII, and contribute to the body of work on gender-based violence, perceptions of police efficacy, and punitive attitudes.

KYBERSIKANA AKO SUCAST MEDIALNEJ VYCHOVY NA 1. STUPNI ZS

The implementation of the topic of risky online behavior in the teaching process through the cross-cutting topic of Media education is one of the ways to inform the child user in time about the possible pitfalls of the online environment. The state educational program for primary education prefers an interdisciplinary approach. It thus creates the space for connecting individual educational areas and cross-cutting topics. The paper, therefore, deals with the issue of implementing the topic of risky online behavior into the educational process of primary education, through the cross-cutting topic of Media Education. It interprets the obtained data based on the research method – an electronic questionnaire addressed to primary school teachers.

The Relationship of Risky Online Behaviors and Adverse Childhood Experiences to Online Sexual Victimization Among Korean Female Adolescents.

Prior research has demonstrated that online sexual victimization (OSV) is a significant social problem and is associated with adolescents' negative developmental outcomes. However, it remains unclear whether adolescents' risky online behaviors and offline victimization are related to the risk of OSV. The present study examined whether female adolescents' risky online behaviors (mood regulation through the Internet, ingratiating behavior, disclosure of personal information, harassing behavior, talking with someone met online, and sexual behavior) and offline victimization (adverse childhood experiences [ACEs]) would be associated with OSV. This study recruited female adolescents and their mothers within six metropolitan cities and provinces of residential areas of South Korea. A total of 509 female adolescents participated in the survey (aged 13-18 years). The present study employed multivariate regression to examine the relationship of risky online behaviors and offline victimization to the experience of OSV. Female adolescents' risky online behaviors (harassing behavior, talking with someone met online, and sexual behavior) were significantly associated with OSV, and those with high exposure to maltreatment and family dysfunction during childhood were more at risk of OSV than adolescents with low exposure to ACEs. The results suggest that it is important to address the effects of risky online behaviors and exposure to offline victimization on female adolescents' sexual victimization online. Identifying risky online behaviors and offline victimization related to OSV can help researchers and practitioners further understand female adolescents' online victimizations in the context of offline and online dynamics.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS FOR CHILDREN

Online school during the COVID-19 pandemic makes the children prone to cyberattacks and malware. Therefore, cybersecurity awareness among children is critical. Online games and stories caused children to neglect their studying time. Therefore, this paper aims to describe the importance of cybersecurity awareness among children. Analyses were performed by using a literature review. Inclusion criteria are review and research articles. Inclusion criteria are review and research articles that were read twice to reduce the bias, then were summarized and narrated descriptively. Results revealed that cybersecurity awareness could be increased by digital literacy training. Children should be taught how to avoid risky behavior online. The cybersecurity awareness program is suitable for children to avoid phishing, pornography, cyberbullying, identity theft, and breaking of privacy. Children must be taught how to keep their passwords safe and private. They also need to be more cautious when playing online games. In conclusion, digital literacy and cybersecurity programs can be taught to children. These programs are suitable for raising cybersecurity among children.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS FOR CHILDREN

Online school during the COVID-19 pandemic makes the children prone to cyberattacks and malware. Therefore, cybersecurity awareness among children is critical. Online games and stories caused children to neglect their studying time. Therefore, this paper aims to describe the importance of cybersecurity awareness among children. Analyses were performed by using a literature review. Inclusion criteria are review and research articles. Inclusion criteria are review and research articles that were read twice to reduce the bias, then were summarized and narrated descriptively. Results revealed that cybersecurity awareness could be increased by digital literacy training. Children should be taught how to avoid risky behavior online. The cybersecurity awareness program is suitable for children to avoid phishing, pornography, cyberbullying, identity theft, and breaking of privacy. Children must be taught how to keep their passwords safe and private. They also need to be more cautious when playing online games. In conclusion, digital literacy and cybersecurity programs can be taught to children. These programs are suitable for raising cybersecurity among children.

Sharenting and Children's Privacy in the United States: Parenting Style, Practices, and Perspectives on Sharing Young Children's Photos on Social Media

Parents posting photos and other information about children on social media is increasingly common and a recent source of controversy. We investigated characteristics that predict parental sharing behavior by collecting information from 493 parents of young children in the United States on self-reported demographics, social media activity, parenting styles, children's social media engagement, and parental sharing attitudes and behaviors. Our findings indicate that most social media active parents share photos of their children online and feel comfortable doing so without their child's permission. The strongest predictor of parental sharing frequency was general social media posting frequency, suggesting that participants do not strongly differentiate between "regular" photo-sharing activities and parental sharing. Predictors of parental sharing frequency include greater social media engagement, larger social networks with norms encouraging parental sharing, more permissive and confident parenting styles, and greater social media engagement by their children. Contrasting previous research that often highlights benefits of parental sharing, our findings point to a number of risky online behaviors associated with parental sharing not previously uncovered. Implications for children's privacy and early social media exposure are discussed, including future directions for influencing parental sharing attitudes and behaviors.