MTV and The Associated Press revealed last Friday results from a new study exploring the pervasiveness of digital abuse, how it is affecting America’s youth and how they’re responding to it. According to the study, 76 percent of 14-24-year-olds say that digital abuse is a serious problem for people their age. More than half (56 percent) of those surveyed say they have experienced abuse through social and digital media, up from 50 percent reported in the 2009 MTV-AP digital abuse survey. However, compared to 2009, young people in the 2011 study were significantly more likely to intervene, with a majority now saying they would step in if they saw someone “being mean online.”
Looking at sexting and digital dating abuse, one in three have sent or received “sext” messages on their cell phones or online, and 71 percent think that sexting is a serious problem. Among those who have sexted, 10 percent have done so with someone they only know online, down significantly from 29 percent in 2009. Among those who have sent a nude photo, roughly half have been pressured to do so. Additionally, 41 percent of those in a relationship have experienced some form of digital dating abuse, with nearly three in 10 saying their partner has checked up on them multiple times a day online or via mobile; 27 percent say a partner has read their text messages without permission.
One in two young people say they often or sometimes see discriminatory language being used against others on social networking sites, with “slut,” “that’s so gay,” “fag” and “retard” ranking among the most commonly used discriminatory words or phrases. The groups most frequently discriminated against online include the overweight and LGBT. Young people surveyed fall into two categories, split roughly down the middle: 51 percent who believe using discriminatory language online is never OK, and 46 percent who believe it’s OK to use it sometimes, so long as you make clear you’re “just kidding.” Fifty-four percent also said it’s OK for them and their friends to use discriminatory language because “I know we don’t mean it.”
In-depth details of the study can be found at LGBTWeekly.com
