The Effects of Digital Media on Juvenile Delinquency
Open Access
Author:
Rampersaud, Anjali
Area of Honors:
Criminology
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Eric P Baumer, Thesis Supervisor Stacy Silver, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Digital media juvenile delinquency deviance substance use violent crime property crime unstructured socialism crime
Abstract:
Digital media is part of our everyday lives and has a prominent impact on the younger generation. The exposure to digital media and the frequency of its use likely has myriad effects on youth behavior. There is a question of whether digital media influences youth involvement in deviant behavior, either positively or negatively correlated. This thesis advances scientific knowledge by examining the impact of digital media exposure on substance use and criminal behavior. The multivariate analysis of national data collected from eighth and tenth-grade students in the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study depicts youth behavior regarding substance use, violent crime, and property crime. The study provides evidence that. though deviant behavior is positively associated with digital media exposure, this relationship appears to arise indirectly through unstructured socializing. When controlling for unstructured socializing, the initial observation of a prevalent positive relationship between digital media exposure and youth deviance attenuates, suggesting that greater digital media exposure increases substance use and crime by increasing unstructured socializing among youth. Implications for existing theoretical explanations of youth crime are discussed.
