Cheating

Cheating in schools now a days happens all the time on various different assignments. They could range from exams to a simple task of answering a couple of questions for homework. Most students believe that cheating is fine as long as it is for small things such as home work that is due in a an hour. In my school people don't cheat on essays or assignments that require creative innovation but they do cheat on simple homework assignments because everyone ends up with the same answers anyways. I can't be sure why they cheat but the only times i do is because i forgot to do the assignment before hand and completely forgot its existence. Cheating on test is just not worth the risk of being caught, or at least that is my opinion but some students think otherwise. I don't think that cheating is that big of a problem in my school or at least not anymore. However I don't understand their reasonings sometimes. People always say they forgot to do it or they didn't have enough time but they stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning on facebook and other social networks while they could have spent 30 minutes finishing the assignment that they end up cheating on. Is it because cheating is easier?
"Oh math homework"
"Maybe i should spend an hour or half and hour if i work fast on it"
"But I can just copy the answers in 10 minutes tomorrow from John, so why bother?"
I suppose that is a reason. I don't see why not but there is a sense of integrity that some students hold that others don't. Why is that? Is it parental influence or education in schools previous to the one they are in now? I say that it can be both but mainly the education. If the kids are never caught cheating because the teachers don't care then the kids will assume that all teachers will be the same. In my case i have been caught before and it has severely impacted my perspective on the issue.