On Risks in a Digital World: Digital Thai People’s Knowledge about and Their Self-Protecting Behavior from Online Gambling Media

Abstract

T he influx of information in a digital world has led to social and health risks from receiving unsafe and uncreative media.  This article has synthesized the knowledge relating to online gambling media, using sociological methodology with the aim to 1) Survey the situation of the knowledge and behavior of digital Thai people in protecting themselves from online gambling media; 2) Analyze the factors relating to digital Thai people’s self-protection from online gambling media; and 3) Develop suggestions on precautions against online gambling media for digital Thai people.  The information for this mixed methodology research was collected from a survey through questionnaires, observing people’s behavior in online media and interviewing, using questionnaires and a sampling group of 427 digital Thai people.  After that, the information was statistically analyzed and so was the content in order, subsequently, to synthesize a body of knowledge. The research found that 1) Most of the digital Thai people were knowledgeable in digital media at a level where they could protect themselves from dangers from the media and they were knowledgeable about online gambling at a level where they could protect themselves from it, and they could protect themselves from receiving online gambling media at a normal level; 2) Factors relating to digital Thai people’s self-protection from online gambling media consisted of factors at a personal level, those at the networks of a digital world and those in society outside the digital world; and 3) Digital Thai people’s precautions against online gambling media had to depend on integrated efforts of related people, social networks and social institutions in developing activities and guidelines in self-protection from online gambling media.