Routine Activity Theory

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The Routine Activity Theory states that there is a higher likelihood for a crime to occur when offenders are motivated to commit a crime; when there is an individual who is an easy target; and there is no person to oversee that the laws in place are not violated. This theory offers a theoretical perspective on why individual bully others on cyberspace, it offers an insight into the different reasons why different people are cyber bullies. According to the theorists, bullies need to be motivated in order to commit to executing such a crime. The most suitable target for cyber bullies are individuals who are impersonators or they might be individuals who are unaware of who the perpetrators are. In addition, bullies might have incriminating photographs …show more content…

Based on the basic principles of the theory, it is evident that there are a lot of individuals who spend their time online communicating with others and sharing personal information with a wide range of individuals. A lot of individuals who engage actively on social media platforms often are at a higher risk of experiencing online harassment and bullying.
Technology is constantly changing due to the technological advancements and with these changes the society is constantly changing its activity pattern. Due to the digital technology advancements, individuals who are confident in their Internet and computer skills, individuals who constantly use the Internet and engage in different social media platforms often are at a higher risk of being targeted by cyber …show more content…

85) analyzed the Routine Activity theory so as to determine individuals at a higher risk to engage in cyberbullying. According to Jasinski and Navarro when people are online they are made to feel more vulnerable hence they become suitable targets to cyber bullies. In addition, online environments lack guardianship this is because a lot of adults especially parents and teachers assume that the parental controls, which are installed on computers, are sufficient enough to act as a replacement for guardians. They overlook the fact that parental controls cannot filter what people are saying online hence young people have access to every information available on all social media

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