Adolescents in the UK spend money online at significant scale, often in games, marketplaces and social platforms, and frequently regret it. The threats behind this are sourced from separate literatures such as deceptive design, gambling risks and other practitioner and legal sources. No single source describes what an 11 to 16 year old actually faces. This taxonomy collects 90 threats from 28 academic, regulatory and practitioner sources into one catalogue.
Each threat is classified four ways. Mechanism records how it works, whether by misleading, by hiding the real cost of spending, by pushing an impulsive decision, by using social pressure, by involving chance, or by attacking the device or account directly. Domain records where it happens, such as in games, shops, subscriptions or payment services. Legal status records where it stands under UK law, separating lawful practice from regulatory breach and from criminal offence. Stage of change records how ready adolescents are to defend against it, and whether that judgement comes from focus-group evidence or from the literature.
Two findings shaped the catalogue. Most of these threats are lawful: 74 of the 90 break no criminal law, and 31 break no rule at all. And the threats adolescents recognise least are often the ones regulation covers least. Every entry lists the source it was drawn from, so any classification can be checked.
The taxonomy in figures
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