Understanding online victimization: An analysis of routines activities theory value in explaining online victimization

Introduction: In the past ten years, research on adolescent use of new technologies has demonstrated that the use of Internet and
other means of information and communication by youth have increased drastically, mostly in what refers itself to the use of
the various means of communication available. This type of social technology enables youngsters to expand their social
circles and improve their ability to communicate with friends and family. Besides, the Internet is an undeniably valuable
educational and entertaining resource. Nevertheless, all these benefits have a downsize since they also create a new and
mostly unregulated environment that exposes children to a multiplicity of risks: violence, bullying, misinformation, sexual
predators, amongst others. Although the research in this area has also increased, the results available are mostly descriptive
and lack a critical perspective on understanding the likelihood of online victimization. To address this need, we recur to the
routine activities theory which has proved itself to be useful in explaining different types of criminal victimization. This
theory states that there are three components necessary in a situation to a crime to occur: a suitable target, a motivated
offender and the lack of capable guardian.
Objective: The current research intends to examine the routine activities consistency in explaining adolescent likelihood to online
victimization, expecting to provide a contribution to literature in this area, considering the overall lack of explanatory
research on this theme. In order to accomplish a wider and more comprehensive view of this phenomenon, we have made a
cross cultural comparison between Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Methodology: To achieve our goals, we have developed a questionnaire (Online Victimization Assessment) consisted by 78 items
that evaluate sociodemographic characteristics, online behaviors, parental supervision and rules about online activities,
exposure to cyberbullying, cyberstalking, sexual solicitations, offline meeting, commercial risks, access to sites with
inappropriate content and personal information misuse. This questionnaire was applied to a representative sample of
youngsters from ten to eighteen years old, from Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Results: Achieved results indicate the applicability of this theory in understanding online victimization. Data analysis showed
that adolescent who had online behaviors that increased exposure to motivated offenders, seem to also been victim from, at
least, one type of risk; concerning target suitability, adolescents engaged in online activities such communicating with people
online, giving out personal information, etc., also have been victims and regarding the lack of capable guardianship, we see
that youngsters who have no parental supervision or rules about their activities online, are more likely to see themselves
involved in online risks.