Saturday, October 29, 2011
Hall 1-2 (San Jose Convention Center)
The online world is full of opportunities for risky and dangerous behavior, and it is clear that a significant number of Internet users engage in such behaviors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the risky behaviors that youths and adults engage in when they go online. Eight hundred and ninety-six participants, defined as Internet users aged 13 years and older, were recruited to participate in the study via word-of-mouth to form a large convenience sample. An online questionnaire was administered which included items covering online and offline risky behaviors and attitudes, shyness level, trust level, depression level, and technology use. For 13-17 year olds, the most common online risky behaviors were posting photos of their creative work online, arguing with someone online, and sharing their religious views online. The most common online risky behaviors engaged in by participants over 18 years of age were using a credit card to make an online purchase, posting photos of their creative work online, and sharing their religious views online. Using regression analyses, age, attitudes toward online and offline risky behavior, amount of time spent using online digital media, and levels of depression were found to be predictors of online risky behavior. Offline risky behavior was predicted by age, attitudes toward online and offline risky behavior, and amount of time spent using online digital media. These results have implications for understanding the effects of technology upon human behavior; specifically, they tell us what personality characteristics are associated with online risky behavior.