青少年網路虛擬身分與網路被害、不當行為

Adolescent Internet False Identify, Victimization and Deviance

青少年在網路上化身不同的假身分非常普遍，例如：男生假裝為女生、年紀小假裝為年紀大，或故意使用他人照片等。過去文獻指出，青少年使用網路假身分多半因人格、人際關係、次文化或傳播學習效果所致，但本文認為此現象可使用生態學擬態（mimicry）與假訊號（false signals）來解釋。本文在2007年以分層叢聚隨機抽樣法，問卷調查了T縣2,864位13～15歲國中生在網路使用虛假身分、網路被害行為、網路加害行為的情況。研究發現，近三成國中生曾在網路使用過假身分，其目的與自我保護免於被害、意圖從事不當行為有密切關係，類似生態界的貝氏擬態與攻擊擬態，且使用網路假身分與每天使用網路時間成正比，實質型網路假身分（指更為精細複雜的假裝身分）與開始使用網路年齡、使用網路時間亦顯著相關，似乎為一種演化的表現。

The internet, indeed, has become part of the youth life-style in Taiwan. Using a 'false' internet identity or persona (pretending to be of the opposite sex, pretending to be adult, stealing others'photos, or pretending to be a hot, outgoing guy or gal) is not uncommon for many different reasons. Some of the existing research literature has related this phenomenon to personality traits, social isolation, youth subculture or media diffusion. This study, however, argues that adolescent use of false internet identity/persona is better viewed heuristically as a form of deceptive mimicry, whereby a sender provides a variety of false signals on the net. Using a stratified random sampling method, the study surveyed 2864 high school students in Taiwan aged 13-15 (in 2007). The self-reported questionnaire contained items concerning adolescent false internet identities/persona, internet victims and internet offenses. Results from the study indicate that 30% of respondents had used false identity on the net. The false internet identity is highly related to a defensive or aggressive goal. The former (defensive) is similar to Batesian mimicry and the latter to aggressive mimicry in the natural world. Furthermore, there was a positive relationship between false internet identity and heavy use. False 'substantial' identity (a more sophisticated and complicated type of false identity), on the other hand, is significantly associated with early onset of internet use as well as heavy use.