CANBERRA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australian teenagers are at increased risk of committing cybercrime, a study has found.
The study, published by the criminology department of South Australia's Flinders University on Tuesday, analyzed the link between legal online activities and cybercrime.
They found that adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 who used the internet to view pornography were more likely to view illegal content while those who play online games were more likely to progress to illegal hacking.
Lead author Andrew Goldsmith said that his team found that adolescents who were already prone to curiosity and thrill-seeing were more likely to commit cybercrime.
"The internet allows young people to limit their social involvement exclusively to particular associations or networks, as part of a trend we've termed 'digital drift'. From a regulatory perspective, we're finding this poses significant challenges as it degrades young people's impulse controls," he said in a media release.
"It's becoming increasingly important to understand the connection between young people's emotional drivers and committing crimes, as well as human-computer interactions to establish why the internet easily tempts young users into digital piracy, pornography and hacking.
"For some young people, the Internet is like a seductive swamp, very appealing to enter, but very sticky and difficult to get out of."
The researchers said that there has to be a greater understanding of the influential technologies regularly used by young people.
"Online technologies render the challenge of weighing up potential risks and harms from actions even harder. A propensity for thrill-seeking common especially among young males encouraged by the Internet can create a form of short-sightedness towards consequences," Goldsmith said.
