Unethical internet behaviour among students in high education institutions: a systematic literature review

Abstract

The modern internet era has several advantages and disadvantages, including the advent of immoral Internet conduct in addition to better, quicker, and increased working capacity in less time. Even though the area of study on unethical Internet activity has advanced, systematic literature reviews from a comprehensive perspective on unethical Internet behaviour among university students are still lacking. As a result, this systematic literature will provide theoretical foundation that address the following research questions: RQ1-How are unethical Internet behaviours among university students classified; RQ2-What are the various theoretical lenses that are used in unethical Internet behaviour research; RQ3-What demographic and risk factors are involved in unethical Internet behaviour research; and RQ4-What are the challenges and research opportunities for unethical Internet behaviour research within university settings? To respond to a formulated set of research questions, a total of 64 publications that were published between 2010 and 2020 underwent a systematic review. The study illustrates how university students’ unethical Internet activity is categorised. This study offers a comprehensive grasp of the factors that affect unethical Internet behaviour and an overview of the theories that have been utilised to explain and forecast unethical Internet behaviours in this sector. This study discusses literature gaps for future research to contribute to human ethical behavioural studies.