Many Teens Suffer ‘Digital Dating Abuse”_Clean
- 4 years ago
TECHNOLOGY PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN TEEN RELATIONSHIPS, BUT A GROWING NUMBER OF STUDIES SHOW HOW THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE DIGITAL DATING ABUSE MORE PREVALENT.
A RECENT NATIONAL SURVEY OF TEENS WHO'D BEEN IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE PAST YEAR REVEALED THAT 28% HAD BEEN VICTIMS OF "DIGITAL DATING ABUSE."
THE SURVEY ALSO FOUND THAT BOYS WERE TARGETED MORE OFTEN THAN GIRLS. ABOUT 32% OF BOYS REPORTED IT, COMPARED TO ABOUT 24% OF GIRLS.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HAS OPENED UP NEW WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO GET ABUSED IN RELATIONSHIPS.
SENDING THREATS BY TEXT, MAKING EMBARRASSING POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, PUBLICLY SHARING PRIVATE PICTURES, OR SECRETLY STALKING AND MONITORING THE OTHER PERSON ARE ALL FORMS OF DIGITAL ABUSE.
TEENS WHO WERE SEXUALLY ACTIVE, HAVE SENT A "SEXT," HAD DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, OR HAD EVER BEEN TARGETS OF "CYBERBULLYING" WERE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF DIGITAL DATING ABUSE.
"I WOULDN'T WANT PARENTS TO HAVE A KNEE-JERK REACTION AND TAKE THEIR KIDS' DEVICES AWAY. WE NEED TO LET OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS KNOW THEY CAN TALK TO US AND HAVE NONJUDGMENTAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THESE ISSUES," SAID LEAD RESEARCHER SAMEER HINDUJA, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE CYBERBULLYING RESEARCH CENTER.
A RECENT NATIONAL SURVEY OF TEENS WHO'D BEEN IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE PAST YEAR REVEALED THAT 28% HAD BEEN VICTIMS OF "DIGITAL DATING ABUSE."
THE SURVEY ALSO FOUND THAT BOYS WERE TARGETED MORE OFTEN THAN GIRLS. ABOUT 32% OF BOYS REPORTED IT, COMPARED TO ABOUT 24% OF GIRLS.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HAS OPENED UP NEW WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO GET ABUSED IN RELATIONSHIPS.
SENDING THREATS BY TEXT, MAKING EMBARRASSING POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, PUBLICLY SHARING PRIVATE PICTURES, OR SECRETLY STALKING AND MONITORING THE OTHER PERSON ARE ALL FORMS OF DIGITAL ABUSE.
TEENS WHO WERE SEXUALLY ACTIVE, HAVE SENT A "SEXT," HAD DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS, OR HAD EVER BEEN TARGETS OF "CYBERBULLYING" WERE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF DIGITAL DATING ABUSE.
"I WOULDN'T WANT PARENTS TO HAVE A KNEE-JERK REACTION AND TAKE THEIR KIDS' DEVICES AWAY. WE NEED TO LET OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS KNOW THEY CAN TALK TO US AND HAVE NONJUDGMENTAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THESE ISSUES," SAID LEAD RESEARCHER SAMEER HINDUJA, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE CYBERBULLYING RESEARCH CENTER.