TY - JOUR
T1 - The seductions of cybercrime: Adolescence and the thrills of digital transgression
AU - Goldsmith, Andrew
AU - Wall, David
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - This article offers a socio-technical framework for better understanding youthful attraction to,
and engagement in, online transgressions and delinquencies. Specifically, it takes the concept of
‘seduction’ from the work of Katz, as well as ‘affordance theory’ and insights from software and
human–computer interaction studies, to analyse the affordances of the Internet that tempt and
invite youthful transgressions such as digital piracy, viewing illegal pornography and hacking. We
argue that Internet affordances not only enable transgressions to occur but can also precipitate
them. The implications for youth crime policy are briefly addressed. Policy needs to reckon with
the power of these factors in adolescent lives and thus minimize reliance on punitive responses.
The article also contributes to the development of the concept of digital drift, by showing how
Internet features and affordances foster drift into cyber delinquency.
AB - This article offers a socio-technical framework for better understanding youthful attraction to,
and engagement in, online transgressions and delinquencies. Specifically, it takes the concept of
‘seduction’ from the work of Katz, as well as ‘affordance theory’ and insights from software and
human–computer interaction studies, to analyse the affordances of the Internet that tempt and
invite youthful transgressions such as digital piracy, viewing illegal pornography and hacking. We
argue that Internet affordances not only enable transgressions to occur but can also precipitate
them. The implications for youth crime policy are briefly addressed. Policy needs to reckon with
the power of these factors in adolescent lives and thus minimize reliance on punitive responses.
The article also contributes to the development of the concept of digital drift, by showing how
Internet features and affordances foster drift into cyber delinquency.
U2 - 10.1177/1477370819887305
DO - 10.1177/1477370819887305
M3 - Article
SN - 1477-3708
VL - 19
SP - 98
EP - 117
JO - European Journal of Criminology
JF - European Journal of Criminology
IS - 1
ER -