Week 4 Journal-Deviant Behavior

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Feb 20, 2024

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Alyssa Trevino Keiser University CCJ3601: Deviant Behavior Professor Mark Noe February 3, 2024 Week 4 Journal 1. Discuss several reasons for the very rapid spread of cyber-deviance. What has led to such a dramatic increase in pornography, cyberstalking, and cyberhate? What can be done, if anything, about these forms of deviance? In recent years, cyber-deviance has spread like wildfire. Cyber-deviance includes actions such as hacking, identity theft, online gambling, stalking, pornography and cyberbullying. There are multiple reasons why cyber-deviance has rapidly spread. One reason being the advancement of the internet and social media. The internet is a vast world, you can find just about anything you need or want. However, “the Internet available to the majority of average people, including Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, major news sites and more, only consists of 1 percent of the entire Internet” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 283). 1% just barely scratches the surface of what the internet has to offer. Hiding behind the general internet is the onion router (TOR) or “deep web”, this is a network that requires specific software to gain access. It serves as a sort of breeding ground for criminals. When searching the deep web, you may come across drug sales, pirated media, and illegal pornography. Another reason cyber-deviance is quickly spreading is because of its easy use. People can access the internet just about anywhere; laptops, iPad, cell phones, the public library, the list goes on. Many people like instant gratification and with the internet you have that. For instance, before the internet when bullying someone, a person would have to go out of their way to do so. Now it is as simple as logging into Facebook and leaving a hateful comment on someone’s picture. As mentioned in the textbook, “They no longer have to stand on street corners to spew out their hatred toward minorities; they can instead achieve the same objective from the relative safety of their homes” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 277). It can be done in a matter of seconds and takes next to no effort. The same goes for all other forms of cyber-deviance. The lack of control over the internet has led to a dramatic increase in pornography, cyberstalking and cyberhate. As mentioned above, the internet is a vast place. It also gives its users anonymity. This makes it difficult to police or control everything that occurs. Knowing there is low risk of consequences, almost encourages individuals to carry out their online deviance. Many people don’t see a reason to behave if they know they will face little or no consequences for their actions. The question of “how do we stop cyber-deviance?" is often asked. The easiest answer to this would be to take away the internet but obviously, this is not going to happen. The next best step

would be to teach our children how to properly use the internet and let them in on the negative consequences it can carry. As a society, we may not be able to change the ways of grown adults, but we can teach the younger crowd to be better. It is also important to monitor what our children are doing while on the web. If children or teenagers have free access to the cyber world, being the curious individuals they are, it isn’t a surprise when they experiment with pornography or cyberbullying. But if they are monitored, this lessens the chance of them partaking in cyber- deviance. 2. Discuss some of the reasons why white-collar deviance is so unique. That is, what are some features of this type of deviance that are not found among other types of deviance? What are some of the causes for white-collar deviance? White-collar deviance can be defined as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 352). There are two main reasons why white-collar deviance is unique. For one, it is related to one’s occupation and carried out during the individual’s occupation. The occupation involved is white-collar rather than blue-collar. The second reason is the status of the offender. When looking at white-collar crimes, the offender is a respectable and high-status individual. “Sutherland referred to people ranging from business managers and executives to “wage-earning class, which wears good clothes at work, such as clerks in stores” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 352) as high-status. There are a handful of features of white-collar deviance that are not found in other types of deviance. The biggest difference is how the act is carried out. White-collar offenders are more likely to execute their crime with skill, sophistication and “with the resources of power, influence, or respectability for avoiding detection, prosecution, or conviction” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 352). A blue-collar worker would not have the same opportunity and access to the type of crimes carried out by white collar workers. Because of this, they are more likely to be arrested than those in a white-collar position. One cause of white-collar deviance is the lack of accountability. Often times, those in high positions are not checked on. To explain, if there is no oversight in a company, it can take a longer period of time for the crime to be found. Further, there seems to be a common mindset in the corporate world of let’s see what we can get away with. 3. Describe the motivations and factors that must come into play for burglary to occur. Just like many other crimes, the motivation behind burglary is often money. The desire to obtain money is “to meet expressive needs , specifically the needs to maintain a “fast life,” to party, and to use drugs and alcohol” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 393). The main factor that must come into play for a burglary to occur is opportunity. The opportunity for committing burglary often comes from the absence of capable guardians. “ Capable guardians are people whose presence deters others from committing crime” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 393). To give an example, a burglar sees a nice home, and no one seems to be inside - this acts as a lack of guardianship. Another example would be seeing a bank that does not have any kind of security, this would look like an easy target with no capable guardians.

4. Explain some of the social dimensions of drug use. That is, how does the use of drugs relate to crime, socioeconomic status, and other aspects of society? There are four social dimensions of drug use. These dimensions include “the extent of drug use in the United States, how U.S. society reacts to drug use, the impact of drug use on the spread of AIDS, and the influence of drug use on crime” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 301). The extent of drug use in the United States : The use of drugs is not uncommon in our country. “The United States as a whole has the highest rate of drug use in the world” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 302). Drug use is most prevalent in young adults, aged 18 to 25. The second being teenagers, aged 12 to 17. The impact of drug use on the spread of AIDS: When using illegal drugs that are administered intravenously, users run the risk of passing HIV (which can cause AIDS) to one another. There is a high number of IV drug users that carry the disease but are unaware of that fact. “One study found that 2 out of 5 IV drug users who were diagnosed with HIV did not know that they were infected and therefore were unable to warn others about possible contaminated needles” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 303). Sadly, for drug addicts the craving of a high outweighs taking any precautions to protect against contracting this life-threatening disease. The influence of drug use on crime: There is a strong link between crime and drug use. “It has been found that close to half of the crime suspects arrested in the United States had used illegal drugs in the prior three days” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 303). The drug enslavement theory states that drug users cannot afford to pay for their expensive drug habits, so they are forced into a life of crime. The general deviance syndrome theory states that “drug use does not by itself cause crime for most users, but drug use does intensify criminal tendency or increase the frequency of criminal activity” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 303). Regardless of whether drugs create criminals or criminals are more likely to use drugs, there is absolutely a link between drugs and crime. Socioeconomic status: People of a higher status tend to use certain drugs while those of a lower status use certain drugs. For instance, it is common for adolescents of a higher status to use marijuana. “Pot smoking could thus be regarded as the affluent youth’s way of pursuing leisure” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 304). Another drug that is commonly used amongst higher statuses is cocaine. The reason more affluent people use it versus the poor is its high cost. On the other hand, the cheapest form of cocaine (crack) is commonly used amongst the lower class. Heroine is also more common in lower-class communities. Overall, it seems that drugs that are higher in cost are used more by those in the upper-class and drugs that are inexpensive are used by lower- class. 5. Summarize and comment on the social consequences of alcohol. What are those consequences, and why are they so severe? An alcoholic beverage here or there can bring about relaxation, greater sociability, and happiness. However, when alcohol is drunk in surplus it has many social consequences. For starters, a staggering rate of car accidents which is the leading cause of death amongst young adults in the United States. “More than half of each year’s automobile deaths and injuries can be

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traced to excessive drinking” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 326). This is an extremely high number of automobile deaths and injuries at the hands of drunk drivers. These deaths could easily have been avoided, especially with services such as Uber and Lyft. However, consuming alcohol can lead to poor decision making so instead of ordering an Uber, drunk driving takes precedent. Additionally, alcohol is linked to a higher rate of criminal offenses. "Offenses directly related to drinking include public drunkenness, driving while intoxicated, disorderly conduct, vagrancy, and violation of liquor laws” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 326). The previously listed offenses are resulting in a plethora of arrests, thus putting a strain on the criminal justice system. Drinking heavily also plays a role in more serious crimes such as rape, homicide and assault. “Alcohol is implicated in close to half of all violent crimes in the United States” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 327). When consuming alcohol, it can bring out aggression and anger which factors into these more violent crimes. Lastly, alcohol seems to have very negative consequences for college students. More than 90% of crimes that occur on college campuses are alcohol related. These crimes include offenses such as vandalism, fighting and alcohol violations. Moreover, they are more likely than other students to have low grades, Alcohol on college campuses has also led to a great deal of sexual assaults. “700,000 students a year are assaulted by another student who had been drinking” (Thio et al., 2019, p. 327). Approximately 20% of college students meet the criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder. This is a fairly large portion of college students, especially considering many of them have not yet hit the legal drinking age. References: Thio, A., Taylor, J. D., & Schwartz, M. D. (2019). Deviant behavior (12th ed.). Pearson.

Week 4 Journal-Deviant Behavior

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