Digital space and the transformations of social deviance among youth: An anthropological reading

Abstract

The major shift that occurred during the second half of the last century and the first quarter of the current one—the almost absolute dominance of the digital space over all aspects of human life and behavior—marked a radical turning point in the nature of existing relationships and the rise of undisciplined and escalating behaviors, particularly among young people. While the social deviations occurring in our society and others are not, in reality, a product of the current situation or technological advancements, especially in social media and the digital space, but rather are more closely related to human nature itself—behaviors resulting from a set of influences and inputs that produce a range of outputs classified as social deviance—there is no single unit of measurement to define which behaviors fall under this concept, as the definition varies from one society to another. Nevertheless, the digital space has undoubtedly contributed to increasing the space available for disseminating, encouraging, or rejecting such deviations. It has also contributed to creating persuasive tools for their practice, while simultaneously playing a role in curbing them. Here, the matter depends primarily on the recipient and their ability to distinguish between social deviance and other forms of deviance. And proper behavior that leads to building society. Given that the digital space is a breeding ground for social transformations, the changes occurring in the nature of social deviance among youth in this space are not limited to a specific pattern. Rather, they expand with the ever-increasing capacity of the digital space to permeate every aspect of human life. Young people, whether in our Iraqi society across all its segments or in other societies, constitute the largest percentage of digital space users, having gained easy access to a vast array of social media platforms unregulated by social constraints. Herein lies the crucial role of anthropology, as it is the discipline most closely connected to humanity and its societies, in clarifying the extent to which this space can escalate or diminish the levels and rates of social deviance, thus ensuring its minimal or nonexistent impact on the social fabric. Despite the significant difficulties inherent in such studies, given that they often pertain to individual behaviors and fall within the realm of privacy, which the constitution is keen to protect, the current situation necessitates that anthropologists and researchers in the social sciences attempt to understand the extent of the impact on societies resulting from social deviance stemming from the unrestricted use of the digital space. This requires a sociological and anthropological perspective to arrive at a comprehensive scientific understanding grounded in facts. Field-based, and that is what this study sought to achieve.