Abstract
The main aim of this paper is to analyze attitudes toward online violence in order to identify the current state of this problem through psychosocial analysis, as well as the possibility of preventing this kind of violence through the prism of online media and social marketing. The authors developed a conceptual model and conducted an online quantitative research study. The survey was conducted among 277 respondents in Montenegro, which is a developing country and as such is experiencing transitions in many segments. The data were analyzed using standard statistical tests, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, logistic regression and the Relative Importance Index. The results of the research showed that specific vulnerable groups such as women are more exposed to online violence. The results of the logistic regression revealed that female respondents aged 18 to 24 were 76.3% more exposed to online violence than respondents over 55. Regarding the aspect of marital status, the results showed that divorced women were most exposed to online violence, 74% more than widows, while single respondents had a 54.2% greater chance of being a victim of online violence compared to widows. In terms of education, the results of the research highlighted that female respondents with a higher level of education were significantly less likely to be victims of online violence than those with a lower level of education. Respondents who had completed doctoral studies had a 48.6% lower chance of being victims of online violence compared to the respondents who had only completed high school. In terms of online media being used as a tool for spreading online violence, 36.89% of respondents identified Facebook, while 21.61% identified Instagram as the main medium of this type of violence. Thus, the research identified the necessity of continuous work focused on informing the population about online violence, as well as raising awareness about measures that should be carried out in order to reduce online violence, because of the significant influence of online media on forming attitudes toward online violence, which was confirmed by 85.19% of respondents. Furthermore, the results showed that online media—in particular, social marketing—may have a key role in the prevention of online violence, as its preventive role was confirmed by 96.76% of respondents. The findings of the research may be extremely useful for different policymakers in order to help them to better understand and identify cases of online violence, especially against women, as well as to create adequate strategies for its prevention through the prism of online media and social marketing.
Highlights
The processes of globalization, internationalization and the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) have significantly changed people’s lives, and the world has become one huge “global village” [1]
The obtained results of the research study clearly confirmed the first hypothesis that specific vulnerable groups such as women are more exposed to online violence than others
The study has shown that some specific vulnerable groups such as women are more exposed to online violence than others
Summary
The processes of globalization, internationalization and the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) have significantly changed people’s lives, and the world has become one huge “global village” [1]. ICT technologies have many benefits from many different points of view, especially considering their informative and educational function. The number of ICT users is constantly growing, communication is becoming much faster and easier than ever before and new channels of communication are being introduced [2]. There are many benefits from the implementation of ICT technologies, there are a large number of challenges. One of the most important of these is violence, which represents an old–new phenomenon that has been allowed to exist in the real and in the virtual world. The characteristics and consequences of traditional and online violence are almost the same, and they are mostly realized simultaneously and coexist [3]
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