Using Social Networking Sites to Explore Cyberabuse among U.S. Women

Latest data from Internet World Stats and a 2009 Nielson report indicate that 74% of North Americans are internet users, and 2/3 of these internet users participate in some kind of social network (i.e. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Social networks and mobile technology enable individuals to connect instantaneously or asynchronously, across geographic boundaries or locally, and publically or anonymously. Consequently, this shift has led to a new form of interpersonal violence known as cyberabuse. Few studies exploring cyberabuse exist, primarly because these technologies are relatively recent. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine U.S. women's experiences with and attitudes toward cyber abuse by way of an anonymous electronic survey. A total of 293 adult women (mean age 24.6) recruited from popular social networking sites participated in the research. The majority of participants (58.5%) reported being a student enrolled at a college or university. Close to 20% repeatedly received an unsolicited sexually obscene message and/or sexual solicitation (excluding Spam messages for all categories) on the Internet and more than 10% (11.5%, n = 33) repeatedly received pornographic messages from someone they did not know. More than a third of those who did experience some form of cyber abuse reported feeling anxious and one- fifth indicated they noticed changes in their sleeping and eating patterns and feeling helpless as a result of the harassment. Implications and recommended strategies for health education and personal safety in the online environment will be shared.