#FollowMe: An investigation into the relationship between social media behaviors and online harassment among adolescents

Abstract

Social media is a relatively new global phenomenon. Virtual places provide criminogenic motivators like financial gain, access to suitable targets, and massive amounts of information all under one virtual roof. Additionally, social media sites host large amounts of people in one space, generating significant opportunities for victimization. Despite the Internet’s theoretical relevance to understanding victimization, scholarly research into the effects of social media activity in victimization is scarce. Using data from the Pew Research Center, I investigated the relationship between Facebook use and online harassment among adolescents between 13 and 17 years of age. The results showed that an adolescent’s behavior on Facebook contributed to the likelihood of experiencing online harassment. Additionally, parental monitoring of their adolescent’s Facebook activity did not have a significant moderating effect on adolescents’ risk of online harassment. This research contributed to the literature by identifying specific behaviors in adolescents that increase their risk of online harassment.