Social isolation, loneliness, and unsafe behavior in the digital environment

Context and Relevance. The relevance of the study is determined by the increasing digitalization of society and the specific psychological mechanisms of online decision-making. In conditions of uncertainty social isolation and loneliness become factors that determine human behavior and can contribute to the adoption of unsafe decisions. Goal. Analysis of the psychological determinants of unsafe behavior in the digital environment and identification of the role and place of social isolation and loneliness among these determinants. Study hypothesis: we assume that the causes of unsafe behavior may be related to factors such as social isolation and loneliness, may be caused by them, may be intensified, transformed, or acquire a different meaning under their influence. Materials and methods. Method: systematic analysis. Data source: search on the Google Scholar and ResearchGate platforms; publications posted in the Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and eLIBRARY.RU databases were selected. Data extraction: 46 articles were selected. The author’s model of unsafe behavior was used for interpretation. Results. Unsafe behavior is defined as the performance of actions that deviate from established rules, procedures, and safety measures. The digital environment is replete with specific risks, factors of which include emotional loneliness (which leads to suspicious acquaintances, unsafe relationships, sexual harassment, violence and aggressive attacks, phishing, sexting, fraud, material damage, and theft of personal data); social loneliness (which results in cyberbullying, fraud, involvement in illegal activities, social engineering, material damage, and theft of personal data); and social isolation in the workplace (which causes safety violations, downloading of unsafe software, infection with computer viruses, and material damage). Young users in the online environment are more likely to encounter cyberbullying, trolling, aggression, sexual harassment and internet addiction; adults are most vulnerable to information security threats in the workplace and to the compromise of corporate data; older people, as a rule, become victims of cybercrimes of a socio‑economic nature. The protective role of other people in reducing the risks of unsafe behavior has been confirmed (meeting the need for communication, warning about danger, seeking external help). The role of subjective loneliness as a direct predictor of unsafe behavior in the digital environment is not clearly confirmed: the causes of unsafe behavior in the digital environment may also include the level of self‑control, attachment type, tendency to be persuaded, cognitive impairments (more common in older people), rather than loneliness; unsafe virtual relationships rarely translate into reality; loneliness can stimulate creative self‑realization in the digital environment. It is predicted that new risks in the digital environment will emerge, dependent on social isolation and the experience of loneliness; it is assumed that they will be associated with the emergence of digital interlocutors and the development of communication with chatbots. Conclusions: The relationship between social isolation and loneliness and the digital environment is ambivalent: on the one hand, social isolation and loneliness can act as factors provoking various forms of unsafe behavior in the online environment, and on the other hand, the online environment can perform a compensatory function, providing the opportunity for social interaction and the experience of social inclusion and significance.

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