Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Social Science Computer Review
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
0894439307313515v1
26/4/446    most recent
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Selwyn, N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

A Safe Haven for Misbehaving?

An Investigation of Online Misbehavior Among University Students

Neil Selwyn

University of London, n.selwyn{at}ioe.ac.uk

Although considerable academic interest has focused on serious cyber-crimes, more commonplace Internet misuses (e.g., misrepresentation of self, unauthorized downloading, Internet pornography, online plagiarism, and other "cyber-cheating") have received less attention. Although these transgressions are of minor legal importance, they merit closer academic scrutiny. Based on a self-report study of 1,222 U.K. undergraduate students, this article explores the prevalence, nature, and underpinning facilitators of five examples of Internet-based misbehavior. Although more than 90% of respondents self-reported online misbehavior during the past 12 months, significant differences are evident in gender, Internet expertise, and, to a lesser extent, age. Although respondents portrayed the Internet as a more conducive environment for misbehavior, the survey data report a strong correlation between respondents' propensity to misbehave in online and offline contexts. These data highlight the need to contextualize cyber-deviance in relation to the offline "life world" of the Internet user and the Internet's wider role in everyday life.

Key Words: Internet • misbehavior • cyber-deviance • downloading • pornography • plagiarism

This version was published on November 1, 2008

Social Science Computer Review, Vol. 26, No. 4, 446-465 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0894439307313515
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?