Mapping the Influences of Social Network Site Use on Cybercrime Victimization: Trends and Recommendations

Many online criminals are now targeting those who use social networking sites (SNSs). However, there is a lack of studies that provide a broad overview of the relationship between SNS use and cybercrime victimization. We undertake a comprehensive literature assessment of an articles series found in various databases to address this information gap. This work aims to assess the current state of scholarship reflecting how SNS use affects cybercrime victimization regarding the theories used, the forms of cybercrime studied, the variables investigated, and the key findings. The results indicated that the Routine Activities Theory was the most frequently employed theory; nevertheless, its effectiveness in explaining cybercrime victimization was controversial. In addition, most research has focused on cyberbullying, but numerous types of cybercrime have received less attention. The main predictors of cybercrime victimization were examined based on the dimension of basic use of SNS, and the psychological, social, and demographic attributes of users. Several recommendations are also provided for future research.