Characteristics of the Dark Web's Online Drug Culture
Ari Haasio, Piotr Siuda, J. Tuomas Harviainen · 2024
This chapter focuses on the special features of the Dark Web’s drug culture. It contributes a conceptual framework to drug users’ culture on the Dark Web. The main research questions were: What are the typical features of the Dark Web’s drug culture? What characteristics are typical of the drug culture on the Dark Web in particular, and what kind of explanatory factors can be found for them? Typical characteristics of the Dark Web’s drug culture are analysed with the help of three variables typical of the network that arose from the data. These are thoughts/feelings, actions and values. Drug users’ subculture on the Dark Web is a culture of otherness and outsiderness. Fear and anonymity are elements that play an important role in this subculture. Also, the importance of peer information and peer support is remarkable. On the margins of the two main questions, the chapter also signals that there could be differences in the Dark Web’s drug cultures in different countries.