Digital Media and the Crime Industry: Saudi Society

Abstract

This study concentrates on digital media’s impact on criminal activities in the Saudi community. The theoretical framework is based on the cultivation theory. The study includes the thirteen regions of Saudi Arabia with a sample of 630 respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Based on the results, TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat are the most influential apps that contribute to the rapid spread of crime, particularly fraud, financial scamming, violating religious and public policy values, as well as deceiving minors. The study reveals that the promotion of crime through digital media is attributed to many factors, most notably digital media’s ability to transmit criminal images and patterns all over the world and achieve lucrative gains by stirring up the media entities’ desire to intensify the dissemination of digital media content. The study recommends the importance of international agreements in the field of combating crimes to determine the framework of international jurisdiction and international collaboration to protect communities against cross-border crimes. Adopting strict security measures to provide sound media content, implementing electronic protection policies and paying much more attention to the family circle are the first line of defence in facing the crimes of digital media content. KEYWORDS Crime confrontation, crime spread, international crimes, IT crimes, new media, social media