Children of the Internet: A Social Portrait of a Generation Raised on the Edge of Anonymity and Permissiveness

[Professor]

Abstract: This sociological essay is not about justification, but about understanding. What social, technological, and cultural conditions of the late 1990s and early 2000s created the grounds for youth involvement in the digital underground?

Introduction: They entered the digital world first, when there were no rules.​

They were born in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their childhoods smelled of printer ink and floppy disk dust, and their adolescence resounded with the creaking sound of dial-up modems connecting to a world unprepared for them. They are "children of the Internet." Not digital natives, for whom the internet had always been there, but pioneers who set foot on a digital land that had no laws, no maps, no ethical boundaries.

Their story is not an excuse for criminal activity, but an attempt to understand a unique social experiment: what happens when a generation receives the keys to a new, boundless universe at a time of historical upheaval, widespread confusion, and a near-total absence of adult guides? This is a portrait not of "villain hackers," but of teenagers lost in the labyrinth of their own power, whose best qualities — curiosity, courage, a thirst for justice — turned dark under specific circumstances.

Chapter 1. Historical Context: The World Beyond the Monitor​

To understand them, you need to see the world they emerged into from behind the computer.

• The social instability of the 1990s: the collapse of familiar systems, economic turbulence, and shifting values. The adult world seemed confused, corrupt, and incapable of providing clear direction. While the real world was unfair and unpredictable, the virtual world, where everything obeyed the logic of code, seemed a realm of justice and control.
• The crisis of traditional institutions: The authority of school, family, and the state was severely undermined. The only authority was now held by those who were strong in a new, unfamiliar space — the Internet. Knowing how to hack the system gave power and status that was lacking in real life.
• Cultural vacuum and the romanticism of marginality: Pop culture of the time — films like Hackers and The Matrix — romanticized the image of the lone genius fighting the system. It was an appealing narrative for a teenager feeling misunderstood.

Chapter 2. Technological Environment: The Wild Digital West​

The Internet itself in those years was a fundamentally different place.

• Anonymity was a given: There was no link to a passport or phone number. You were your own nickname, avatar, and your own actions. This gave you a dizzying sense of freedom: you could be whoever you wanted and start with a clean slate. But this same anonymity removed moral inhibitions. No face, no responsibility.
• Permissiveness as a technical possibility: There was virtually no protection anywhere. Vulnerabilities were everywhere. Hacking email, a website, or a server was often a matter of technical skill, not of overcoming complex security systems. This created the illusion that if you can do it, it must be permitted by the very structure of the world. Ethical boundaries weren't written into the code.
• Communities instead of nations: Geography disappeared. Your friends and mentors became fellow teenagers from other cities and countries on forums and in IRC chats. A global subculture emerged, with its own rules, slang, and hierarchy, where skills were valued over offline social status.

Chapter 3. Psychological Portrait: What Needs Did the Underground Satisfy?​

Why did a smart, technically gifted teenager choose to work on a dark forum instead of becoming a programmer?

1. The need for competence and recognition. At school, you might be bullied for being a "nerd," but on a crack or carding forum, the same skill commanded respect. "Look what I can do" is a powerful motivator. Creating a working script or finding a vulnerability provided instant feedback and status that were lacking in reality.
2. The need for justice and control. Seeing injustice all around him, the teenager felt powerless. But in the digital world, he could become a "Robin Hood": hacking the website of an undesirable organization, "punishing" the offender, compromising what he considered a corrupt organization. It was an illusory but effective way to restore justice and gain power.
3. The need for belonging and elitism. Being part of a closed club, knowing its own slang, and understanding things that were inaccessible to "lamers" (newcomers) gave a feeling of being chosen. The community became a new "family" with its own rituals and values.
4. The thrill of exploration. This is perhaps the purest and most innocent motivation. The internet was terra incognita. Hacking a system to see "how it works inside" was an act of discovery. The problem was that the object of discovery often consisted of systems containing other people's money and data.

Chapter 4. Trajectories of Fates: What Happened to the "Children of the Network"?​

Not everyone who started by hacking Odnoklassniki's email became a carder. But for some, the digital underground became a trap.

• Trajectory 1: Legitimizing Talent. Many, having played enough and matured, realized the risks and the dead end of their path. Their skills — the ability to think like an attacker, find vulnerabilities, and understand systems — proved invaluable in the legal cybersecurity market. They became top penetration testers, defense architects, and threat analysts. Their childhood experience became professional capital.
• Trajectory 2: Digital Shadow. Others were unable or unwilling to leave the game. The illusion of easy money, the habit of anonymity, and their addiction to gambling led them into a real criminal underworld. Their technical aptitude became a tool for causing real harm.
• Trajectory 3: Disillusionment and Exit. Some, having encountered the underground's internal cruelty (deception by "their own," pressure), became disillusioned and left the scene forever, sometimes with a sense of guilt and lost years.

Chapter 5. Lesson for the Future: How to Avoid Repeating Mistakes?​

The story of the "children of the Internet" is not a death sentence for a generation, but a lesson for society about what happens when technological progress outpaces ethical and pedagogical understanding.

1. Digital education is critically important. Cyber hygiene skills and digital ethics need to be taught as systematically as traffic rules. Explain that opportunity does not equal legality.
2. Talent needs a legitimate outlet. Society must create visible, prestigious, and accessible pathways for technically gifted youth: cybersecurity Olympiads, youth labs, hackathons with a positive agenda. We need to show that the hero isn't the one who hacked the system, but the one who protected it.
3. Adults must be aware of this. A "digital divide" between generations is unacceptable. Teachers, parents, and psychologists must understand the language and motivations of the digital world to be able to recognize risks early on and channel their energy constructively.
4. Creating ethical digital environments. Platforms and communities cannot be ruleless spaces. Moderation, clear ethical standards, and mentoring systems are not censorship, but rather the creation of a safe environment for growing up.

Conclusion: Peter Pan's Lost Boys and Girls of the Digital Neverland​

The "Children of the Net" were like the lost boys and girls from the Peter Pan story. They escaped to Neverland, a land where they didn't have to grow up, where they could fly and be whoever they wanted. Only their Neverland was digital, and the ability to "fly" consisted of writing lines of code.

Some found themselves there and were later able to return to the real world, enriched by experience. Others remained in the shadows, forgetting where the game ends and crime begins.

Their story is a reminder that technology only amplifies what's already within us. It can become a magic wand for creation or a weapon for destruction. Society's task is not to condemn the "lost children" of the past, but to create conditions for the children of the future so that their curiosity, courage, and thirst for justice are embodied in the bright, not the dark, corners of the Internet. So that their digital maturation doesn't take place in hiding, but in full view of wise and understanding adults who can reach out and say, "Your talent is wonderful. Go, the world needs it for something greater."