The Dark Web Mostly Attracts Impulsive Young People with a Criminal Record, Report

The dark web was initially developed for good cause, like secure communication for privacy geeks and whistleblowers.

However, this set of people aren’t the only visitors in the dark web, it also increasingly attracts people with criminal tendencies. 

A new study finds the dark web is a magnet for a very different crowd: young, impulsive risk-takers.

What Sort of People the Dark Web Attracts

A Florida Atlantic University researcher analyzed data collected from 1,750 adults in the US. Their goal? To find out what exactly separates dark web users from every other internet user. The results, published in the Journal of Crime and Justice, are striking.

About one-third of dark web users admitted to a past criminal conviction. That’s 33.6%, compared to just 12.6% of surface web users. So, dark web visitors are nearly three times as likely to have a criminal record.

But that’s not all. These users scored much higher on measures of low self-control. We’re talking impulsivity and a taste for risk. Those traits often lead to criminal behavior in the physical world too.

The Role of Friends and Bad Attitudes

Who you know matters a lot. And when you hang out with certain people all the time, you start to learn their habits, enjoy the things they enjoy, even go to places they visit.

The study found that impulsive people tend to hang out with “cyber-deviant” peers. These friends already break digital rules. They act like tour guides, teaching others how to navigate hidden parts of the internet.

In fact, social learning explains almost half of the link between low self-control and dark web use. Your crew really does shape your clicks.

And the attitudes are troubling. Dark web users showed stronger support for larceny, online deviance, and even physical violence. That’s compared to folks who stick to the regular “surface” web.

A Risky Environment, Not a Crime Itself

To be clear, visiting the dark web alone is not breaking the law. As Senior author Ryan C. Meldrum, Ph.D. pointed out, the dark web has legitimate uses. Think accessing censored news or secure private communication.

The problem is the platform’s anonymity. It creates a risky digital space that motivates offenders, increases the chances of getting victimized, but has little law enforcement oversight.

This lack of oversight is exactly what enables massive data dumps like the reported sale of 58 million Indonesian students’ records, a breach that would be far harder to execute and profit from on the surface web, where law enforcement and security measures are more robust.

So who is the typical user? The study paints a clear picture. People who are attracted to the dark web fit a certain profile, impulsive, with deviant friends and criminal attitudes.

Meldrum puts it this way: the dark web attracts people whose behavioral, social, and attitudinal profiles resemble those involved in criminal activity. It’s a place where motivated offenders, potential victims, and weak oversight all meet.

More Education, Worse Attitudes

Interestingly, the average dark web user is not just young and male. The data also points to someone who is heterosexual and has more education. Why? Because accessing the dark web safely requires some digital know-how.

But these folks may lack the impulse control to avoid its shadier corners. And their attitudes are troubling. The study measured support for different crimes. Dark web users scored higher on favorable views toward larceny.

They supported online deviance more. And most concerning, they showed higher support for physical violence against others. The bottom line? Understanding who goes there helps us balance real risks with legitimate uses.