The Digital Abuse Study: Perception of Life on the Internet

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.

Not Applicable

PRIMARY 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