Are Online and Offline Delinquency Mutually Exclusive? Blurred Boundaries between Cyber Space and the Real-World

• Nayoung Ko,
• Myeonggi Hong,
• Jeeseon Hwang,
• Jeonghyeon Chang,
• EuiGab Hwang,

Vol. 15, No. 8, August 31, 2021
10.3837/tiis.2021.08.019, Download Paper (Free):

• Online and Offline delinquency
• Opportunity factors
• Routine Activity theory
• Self-Control Theory
• Situational Action Theory

Abstract

This study examines the similarities and differences between the causes of juvenile delinquency in online and offline environments and in personal characteristics. The study utilizes data from the ‘2014 Survey on Juvenile Victimization in Korea’. The population of this survey is students attending middle and high schools across the country. While this paper is based on the Self-Control theory, opportunity factors based on the Routine Activity theory and the Situational Action theory are also applied. Results show that the causes of offline delinquency are low self-control, routine activity and frequent gaming and SNS use. The causes of online delinquency are high self-control, existence of communication with unknown persons and the spectrum of personal information online. The common element of offline and online delinquency was the presence of delinquent peers. These results show that while online and offline delinquency cannot be explained with the same methodology, at the same time they are not mutually exclusive.

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