Photo by Stefano Bucciarelli on Unsplash

Young people’s lives increasingly unfold online, and so do many forms of deviance and victimization. Recent Danish research shows that while parental control matters for everyone, boys and girls may experience digital risks in different ways.

As young people spend more of their social lives online, the boundaries between “online” and “offline” behavior are becoming increasingly blurred. Social media, gaming platforms, and chat applications have become central spaces for friendship, identity, and belonging — but also for harmful behavior.

In Denmark, where internet use among young people is among the highest in Europe, cyberbullying, sexual image sharing, and online harassment have become important concerns for practitioners, researchers, schools, and families. At the same time, youth crime in Denmark has generally declined in recent years. This raises an important question: if traditional offending decreases, are some forms of harmful behavior simply moving into digital spaces?

My recent research explores this question by examining both online and offline deviance among Danish adolescents from a gender perspective. The study uses data from the 2022/2023 Youth Profile Survey (Ungeprofilundersøgelsen), which includes responses from 7,810 students in grades 7–9 across seven Danish municipalities.

The findings show that parental factors remain highly important in understanding youth behavior — even in a digital age.

For both boys and girls, parental control of everyday routines appeared to be one of the strongest protective factors against involvement in deviant behavior. Young people who experienced clearer structure and supervision from parents were generally less likely to engage in harmful activities offline (e.g., theft, substance use, and shoplifting) and online (e.g., cyberbullying and unauthorized sexual image sharing).

However, important gender differences also emerged.

For boys, deviant peer groups were especially influential. Boys who associated with peers involved in problematic behavior showed significantly higher risks of offline deviance. This suggests that peer dynamics and group environments remain central to understanding boys’ risk behaviors.

For girls, digital life itself appeared more important. Screen use time and parental monitoring of online activities were particularly relevant factors. Girls who reported higher screen use and weaker online supervision showed greater involvement in problems related to sexual image sharing, including being victims of sexual image sharing or sharing their own sexual images with others. Self-harm behaviors also emerged as important risk factors for assault, substance use, and victimization through sexual image sharing, particularly among girls.

These findings point toward the need for more nuanced prevention strategies.

First, strengthening parental involvement remains crucial. Supporting parents in creating stable daily routines and engaging with young people’s digital lives may help reduce risks across genders.

Second, schools and youth organizations should pay closer attention to peer environments, especially among boys. Building positive peer networks and identifying problematic group dynamics early may be effective prevention strategies.

Finally, digital literacy and online safety education deserve greater attention — particularly for girls (regarding sexual images). Young people need support not only in avoiding online harm, but also in navigating digital spaces in healthy and responsible ways.