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The Digital Abuse Study: Perception of Life on the Internet

The Perceptions of Life on the Internet measure uses a single multi-response item from the MTV and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Digital Abuse Survey. It assesses if and how often young adults (14-24 years old) perceive the potential consequences of social media, texting or other technologies.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female, Male

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

1. When you think about all the things that you do using the Internet, cell phones or gaming devices, how much have you thought about each of the following?

  • Sometimes people do or say things on the Internet or by text message that they wouldn’t do or say to someone’s face
  • When you write messages on a computer or cell phone, sometimes the person receiving the message might misunderstand what you really meant to say
  • When you write things on a computer or a cell phone, it is easier for your words to be passed on to other people without your knowledge
  • When you post things on a website, Facebook or Twitter page, that information could come back to hurt you later
  • When you share pictures using the Internet or a cell phone, it’s hard to know where those pictures might wind up
  • When you share things through a cell phone app such as Instagram, Vine, or Snapchat, it is easier for your images or videos to be passed on to other people without your knowledge
  • Sometimes people share images or videos through social networking apps such as Instagram, Vine or Snapchat that they wouldn’t share if they knew it would become public
  • When you post things on a website, Facebook or Twitter page or share them by text message, there’s a risk you’ll get in trouble with your parents because of it
  • When you post things on a website, Facebook or Twitter page or share them by text message, there’s a risk you’ll get in trouble with the police
  • [Ask if employed] When you post things on a website, Facebook or Twitter page or sare them by text message, there’s a risk you’ll get in trouble with your boss
  • [Ask if in school] When you post things on a website, Facebook or Twitter page or share them by text message, there’s a risk you’ll get in trouble with your school

Response Options:*
I have thought about this a lot
I have thought about this some
I have thought this only a little
I have never thought about this

* Numeric codes for the Response Options above were not provided in the original report.

Scoring Procedures

Not Applicable

Original Citation

Tompson, T., Benz, J. & Agiesta, J. (2013). The digital abuse study: Experiences of teens and young adults. https://apnorc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/AP-NORC-Center-and-MTV_Digital-Abuse-Study_FINAL.pdf


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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