Younger people who have grown up with the internet are apparently more prone to engaging in criminal behavior online, and they might not see a problem with various risky behaviors that people say they should avoid as well with all things having been considered and taken into account. The European Union recently funded a study to figure out the behavior patterns of teenager users who are between the ages of 16 and 19, and this shed some light onto the risky trends that are emerging.
It turns out that a quarter of all survey respondents said that they trolled someone online. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that one out of every three survey respondents also said that they had engaged in some form of digital piracy in the recent past. 44% also stated that they have watched pornography online, which is concerning considering that many of the respondents are under the age of 18 and therefore can’t view such content legally.
Inciting violence is a very serious offence, but in spite of the fact that this is the case around 22% of teenage users admitted to taking part in this activity. Digital tracking was rife among 27% of survey respondents, which suggests that Gen Z users care less about privacy rights than their older peers.
The country with the highest proportion of deviant online behavior within this cohort was Spain, where 75% of respondents said that they had engaged in some form of risky or illegal behavior while surfing the web. Three countries tied for second place with 72%, namely Romania, the Netherlands and Germany, which suggests that teenagers in this country might be more likely to do something illegal online than might have been the case otherwise.
One thing that might be skewing the results is the young age of the participants because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making them more prone to bad online behavior. There is a chance that their behavior will change for the better down the line, but the harm that they can do in the interim is still quite real.
That is why creating online safety legislation is so important not just for the EU but also for other countries around the world. The risk taking appetite among children can be exacerbated by the internet, and we may see many of them throwing their lives away due to mistakes they made at such a nascent developmental stage. If steps are not taken, an entire generation could find itself traumatized by the indecisiveness of adults.
Read next: Shotkit Survey reveals the most popular camera and brands
It turns out that a quarter of all survey respondents said that they trolled someone online. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that one out of every three survey respondents also said that they had engaged in some form of digital piracy in the recent past. 44% also stated that they have watched pornography online, which is concerning considering that many of the respondents are under the age of 18 and therefore can’t view such content legally.
Inciting violence is a very serious offence, but in spite of the fact that this is the case around 22% of teenage users admitted to taking part in this activity. Digital tracking was rife among 27% of survey respondents, which suggests that Gen Z users care less about privacy rights than their older peers.
The country with the highest proportion of deviant online behavior within this cohort was Spain, where 75% of respondents said that they had engaged in some form of risky or illegal behavior while surfing the web. Three countries tied for second place with 72%, namely Romania, the Netherlands and Germany, which suggests that teenagers in this country might be more likely to do something illegal online than might have been the case otherwise.
One thing that might be skewing the results is the young age of the participants because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making them more prone to bad online behavior. There is a chance that their behavior will change for the better down the line, but the harm that they can do in the interim is still quite real.
That is why creating online safety legislation is so important not just for the EU but also for other countries around the world. The risk taking appetite among children can be exacerbated by the internet, and we may see many of them throwing their lives away due to mistakes they made at such a nascent developmental stage. If steps are not taken, an entire generation could find itself traumatized by the indecisiveness of adults.
Read next: Shotkit Survey reveals the most popular camera and brands
