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