Influence of the Internet on the Juvenile Delinquency

As the contemporary juvenile are born and brought up in a world where it seems impossible to exist without the internet, the ever increasing ratio of juvenile crimes and the formation of the psychology of juvenile delinquency can be linked with the full-scale penetration of the internet. With the fact that smaller US cities struggle with high teen gun violence rates and bullying at school converts to abusing, assaulting and even killing without a little mercy or humanity, Juvenile Delinquency has been one of the three public hazards all over the world in 21st century. According to a report of CNNIC(China Internet Network Information Center), there were 2.8 billion teen internet users, accounting for 85??… of the total number of teenagers by 2015. Meanwhile, the internet is always considered as an open platform where mass information, data, news and opinions can be exchanged, but exposed to too much negative stimulants while surfing the internet can mislead the teens to the wrong roads and commit crimes.

First and foremost, teenagers are more likely to form personality disfigurement. It is undeniable that teenagers are less mature than adults. They make poorer decisions than adults because of basic psychological, neurobiological, physical and developmental differences.(Feld, 2003) So when facing the impacts of the internet, including the online games, most of which are characterized by violence and pornography, and the hysterical venting on various social networks, teenagers are tend to confuse the virtual with the real. Their minds and values gradually deviate from the reality, presenting to be indifferent, arrogant and fractious. They are anxious to break out the regulation and restraint from family and school, seemingly ready to rebel everything, which leads them impulsively and blindly accept the temping rules in the virtual world.

Worse still, the internet offers teenagers the access to committing a crime. The cost of collecting information of criminal details via internet is quite low, such as purchasing drugs, psychological drugs and guns, and tricks to getting away with the punishment using the loopholes of the law. Because of virtuality and concealing of the internet, teenagers tend to hold the illusion that there will be no evidence and they will not be found or punished.

And it has lower cost to form a criminal gang because teenagers are easily fired up and used by others. On the one hand, they distrust the entire society, abandoning themselves to the Internet Autism, on the other hand, they intend to be distinguished by challenging the norm without considering the outcome. These characters are often used by some sociopaths.

Despite the logical deduction, the impact of the internet on the juvenile can be further confirmed by a study which proved that excessive television viewing in childhood and adolescence is associated with increased antisocial behavior in early adulthood.(Lindsay A. Robertson, Helena M. McAnally and Robert J. Hancox 2013). Watching TV is so devastating to one's life, let alone the internet and smartphone which create phubber, a group of people staring at their phones all the time and being deprived of the normal connection in the real world unconsciously. To conclude, juvenile are at higher risk of committing a crime with the negative impact of internet. It calls for the combined efforts from school, family and society to form a gentle environment and lead the teenagers to do what is right.

Reference List

1. CNNIC: http://www:cnnic.cn/ Feld, B. (2003) Competence, culpability??punishment:implication of Atkins for executing and sentencing adolescents. Hofstra Law Review, 32(1), 463-552
2. Lindsay A. Robertson, Helena M. McAnally and Robert J. Hancox (2013) Childhood and Adolescent Television Viewing and Antisocial Behavior in Early Adulthood

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