Alwejdani, Somaya;
(2025)
Exploring Online Grooming Opportunities on an Online Social Network: A mixed-method Approach.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis, grounded in environmental criminology, explored online grooming (OG) risks on an online social network (OSNX)1 using a mixed-method approach. It examined from a situational crime perspective how target suitability, motivated offenders, and the absence of capable guardians increase minors’ vulnerability to online victimisation. Three studies were conducted to address this issue. The first study analysed a random sample of adolescents’ accounts on OSNX to identify risky online behaviours. Findings indicated that girls, White and Latin adolescents exhibited more risky behaviours online. Posts containing exposed skin attracted more followers. The second study employed honeypot methodology to assess the impact of guardianship and profile photos on adolescents’ online activities. Four fictitious British girl profiles were created to analyse incoming contacts. The findings suggested that guardianship and profile photos influence contact frequency but not the nature of interactions, whether ’suspicious’ or benign. The third study explored the experiences and perceptions of police officers investigating OG offences in the UK. Officers identified key factors facilitating OG, including low online safety awareness among minors and parents, technological illiteracy, and poorly regulated OSN features. They further identified challenges in investigating these cases, such as inadequate technical skills, poor resourcing, emotional strain, and lack of co-operation from victims and families. The research identifies gaps in prevention efforts and highlights areas for future intervention such as extending experiment lifecycles, examining additional variables related to the RAA elements, evaluating online safety awareness sessions for children and their guardians, and assessing the usability of privacy features on OSNX among children.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Exploring Online Grooming Opportunities on an Online Social Network: A mixed-method Approach |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Security and Crime Science |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203360 |
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