The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Dark Web: Perceptions of South African Students and Parents

Abstract

This paper reports on how South African students and their parents perceive the Dark Web, indicating their level of knowledge, curiosity about and awareness of the Dark Web. This exploratory study is interpretive and qualitative in nature, as it relies on human perceptions and opinions. Two different questionnaires were used during the data-gathering process between the two participant groups (54 students and 24 parents). Thematic analysis was applied to identify emerging themes from the data. Students share a common interest and curiosity that increases the likelihood of them using the Dark Web. In contrast, parents have very little interest in and knowledge of the Dark Web. This lack of interest and knowledge causes parents to be ignorant and unconcerned about their children's potential use of the Dark Web. Our research indicates that young adolescents may use the Dark Web, not being fully aware of the dangers associated with it.