Research of Attitudes toward Online Violence—Significance of Online Media and Social Marketing in the Function of Violence Prevention and Behavior Evaluation

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.

Male Perception of Female Participation and VAW on the Virtual Learning App – “Hallo”

“…Gender-based violence in virtual space adopted different names such as gender-based online violence (GBOV) or online misogyny and myriad forms that apply the "silencing strategies" toward women (Zaman, 2021a 2021a; Thakur et al 2015). Apparently, the range of VAW online and its meaning cannot be covered by a single definition, given that it absorbs evasive and newly appearing dimensions (Musso, 2019;Melović et al 2020). The common intentions of VAW online include targeting women and girls to denigrate, embarrass and frighten them.…”

“…The common intentions of VAW online include targeting women and girls to denigrate, embarrass and frighten them. It is estimated that 80% of women face online threats daily (Henry and Powell 2016).Women of the 18-24 age range have been found as a vulnerable category in many studies whose experience of online violence, abuse, and sexual harassment is higher than that of other age groups (Melović et al 2020;Thakur et al 2015;Duggan, 2014;PRC, 2017as cited in Musso, 2019. In their study, Melović et al (2020) showed that single and divorced women are more exposed to online violence than married ones and higher academic qualifications of women decrease the chances to be victimized since educated women are cognizant of better usage of digital resources, handling private information and securing their own presence online.…”

“…It is estimated that 80% of women face online threats daily (Henry and Powell 2016).Women of the 18-24 age range have been found as a vulnerable category in many studies whose experience of online violence, abuse, and sexual harassment is higher than that of other age groups (Melović et al 2020;Thakur et al 2015;Duggan, 2014;PRC, 2017as cited in Musso, 2019. In their study, Melović et al (2020) showed that single and divorced women are more exposed to online violence than married ones and higher academic qualifications of women decrease the chances to be victimized since educated women are cognizant of better usage of digital resources, handling private information and securing their own presence online. Relatedly, a study found that women's behavioral changes such as censoring their own posts, modifying strategies to use the platforms, curbing interactions, and even permanent retirement from the platforms crop up just after they experience violence on the internet (Amnesty International, 2018).…”

Nuevas formas de violencia y discursos de odio hacia las mujeres en juegos online multijugador

“…Los resultados de esta investigación apoyan la evidencia, que ya ha sido destacada en estudios anteriores, acerca de la existencia de la violencia en los entornos online como una vivencia de los jóvenes y adolescentes actuales (Donoso et al, 2018;Melović et al, 2020;Rodríguez y Ballesteros, 2019). La evidencia encontrada a lo largo de la investigación sugiere que existe violencia en los juegos que utilizan el estatus femenino y la influencia de género como blanco de insultos, ataques y acoso contra las jugadoras.…”

Videojuegos online: escenarios de interacción y experiencias de violencia en mujeres gamers

“…Una aproximación desde el enfoque de género, al consumo de videojuegos y la situación de las jugadoras en el sector" (Santana, 2020). • Attitudes toward Online Violence-Significance of Online Media and Social Marketing in the Function of Violence Prevention and Behavior Evaluation (Melović, B., Stojanović, A. J., Backović, T., Dudić, B., & Kovačičová, 2020). El diseño final del cuestionario estuvo compuesto por 41 preguntas que ofrecen diferentes opciones de respuesta, algunas de las cuales escalas tipo Likert, y que proporcionaban información sobre diferentes categorías de investigación como:…”