Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking最新文献

Digital citizenship, a multidimensional concept that encompasses digital literacy, online ethics, and civic engagement, promotes young people's responsible, respectful, and safe participation in digital society. Precisely defining the values and behaviors that shape its ethical dimension is thus essential for understanding youth digital engagement. In this study, we aimed to develop and validate a self-report measure to assess online ethical values and behaviors and to examine their interrelations. A sample of 529 Spanish youth (61.4 percent women, aged 13-23 years) completed a self-report measure. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a five-factor structure (57.1 percent variance explained): Online Respect, Online Responsibility, Tolerance for Diversity, Prosocial Cyberbystander, and Online Self-Development. We also aimed to analyze the relationships between these online values and the associated variables. We found significant correlations with higher empathy, lower cyberhate perpetration, and increased online ethical behaviors, including prosocial bystander interventions in cases of cyberhate. Women, non-heterosexual youth, and older participants (18-23 years) reported higher ethical values, with no significant group differences in self-reported online ethical behaviors. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between online ethical values in youth and their actual practices, highlighting the importance of incorporating socio-emotional and sociodemographic factors into prevention strategies aimed at preventing unethical online behaviors. The newly developed scale offers a practical tool for assessing and enhancing digital citizenship interventions, addressing the growing need for responsible and respectful online engagement.

Avatar-based communication in virtual worlds offers a crucial space for online social support. Such support can be facilitated through avatar customization. However, most platforms, designed primarily for entertainment and attracting numerous users, have not fully examined the relationship between avatar customization and social support. This study provides an integrated explanation of the interplay among avatar customization, avatar identification, and online social support and proposes a practical approach for enhancing user well-being. Drawing on data from a two-wave longitudinal survey with a 9-month interval, conducted among Japanese users of three major avatar communication services (Second Life, ZEPETO, and Pigg Party), we analyzed the longitudinal relationships between these factors. A cross-lagged panel analysis revealed a positive feedback loop wherein avatar identification and perceived online social support mutually and positively reinforce each other over time. More frequent avatar customization at Wave 1 predicted higher avatar identification at Wave 2, suggesting that customization can serve as an upstream starting point for this feedback loop. Avatar identification and perceived online social support were positively associated with subsequent user satisfaction on most metrics. In addition, mediation analyses indicated significant indirect effects of avatar customization on perceived online social support and user satisfaction via avatar identification. By demonstrating how these concepts work together, our findings provide a practical strategy for service providers. By encouraging avatar customization-a measure that aligns naturally with platform operations, such as item releases and events-companies can initiate a positive feedback loop between avatar identification and online social support. This can enhance user well-being by increasing social support while potentially supporting platform success via higher user satisfaction, creating a win-win scenario.

While trust in the news media has eroded globally, this shift is particularly noticeable in the United States. This lack of trust has been attributed to perceptions that the news media is either unintentionally (misinformation) or intentionally (disinformation) spreading false information. This study examined the relationship between perceptions of misinformation (PMI) and disinformation (PDI) and traditional and social media news use. A survey of US adults (N = 1005) revealed that both PMI and PDI were negatively associated with television and newspaper news use. Furthermore, PMI was positively associated with YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram news use, whereas PDI was positively associated with YouTube and TikTok news use. Our findings highlight the roles PMI and PDI play in the selection of specific outlets for news consumption and offer implications in understanding how individuals engage in news selection, which could expose them to mis- and disinformation.

According to the I³ model of aggression, this study examines the association between dark personality traits and online aggression, with a particular focus on the role of sadism in cyberbullying among Chinese emerging adults. The primary objective was to examine the mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationship between sadism and cyberbullying, as well as the moderating effect of gender on this mediating pathway. Using an online survey methodology, data were collected from 709 university students across China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The findings reveal that moral disengagement plays a significant mediating role in the link between sadism and cyberbullying, with gender further moderating this relationship. These results suggest that moral cognitive processes, such as moral disengagement, are critical pathways through which dark personality traits like sadism manifest in online aggressive behaviors. By integrating gender as a moderating factor, this study highlights the nuanced psychological mechanisms underlying cyberbullying and emphasizes the unique risks faced by females with subclinical sadistic tendencies. This study contributes to aggression theories by integrating moral disengagement theory and relational theory, and also contributes empirical evidence to the literature on interpersonal violence and online aggression, offering valuable insights for the development of gender-specific prevention and intervention programs that address both moral disengagement and the underlying personality traits associated with cyberbullying. It also highlights the cultural diversity of cyberbullying, providing a valuable Eastern perspective on antisocial behaviors.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), a branch of AI capable of producing novel content from human input, is poised to transform various aspects of society. However, the benefits and challenges of GenAI adoption are not equally distributed, contributing to a new layer of digital inequality, the GenAI divide. This study examines the individual factors associated with psychological barriers, GenAI competency, and adoption readiness. Using data from a stratified online survey of 305 participants, the study explores sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex, age, race, education, and income), as well as competency factors (e.g., operational and creative skills) and psychological factors (e.g., attitudes toward AI, GenAI decision reliance, and self-efficacy). Findings reveal that operational skills and comfort with AI were significantly associated with lower anxiety and higher adoption readiness, whereas negative technology attitudes were associated with increased barriers. Furthermore, greater reliance on GenAI for decision-making was associated with lower self-assessed competency, suggesting a compensatory mechanism in which less confident users may increasingly depend on automated recommendations. These results highlight the multi-dimensional nature of the GenAI divide, emphasizing the interplay between individual-level factors and inequality-related outcomes. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions, such as AI literacy programs and supportive digital communities, to address these disparities and promote equitable access to the benefits of GenAI. By identifying key factors associated with GenAI adoption, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of digital inequality in the age of generative AI technologies.