Social Media Use and Sexual Harassment Propensity among Female Youth in Perak

Abstract

Malaysia has been recorded as having one of the highest internet penetration rates in the Southeast Asia region. To date, there are 30.25 million active social media users in Malaysia. This statistic indicated the growing number of social media users, which can be referred to as a blessing in disguise for Malaysia. One of the devastating impacts is the rising number of sexual harassment cases in Malaysia. Thus, this study is conducted to study the impact of social media use and sexual harassment propensity among female youth in Perak. A quantitative survey was conducted with 384 female youth in several localities in Perak using cluster sampling. Based on the survey, it was indicated that the frequency of social media use among female youth in Perak is moderate, and the sexual harassment propensity recorded from them is low. However, this study has shown that there is a significant relationship between social media use and sexual harassment propensity. As this is a quantitative study, it is recommended that future scholars conduct a qualitative study to explore this issue thoroughly. Furthermore, future studies can recruit participants from both genders, as the current trend shows men among the rising victims of sexual harassment. To improve this situation in the future, every stakeholder—parents, educators, ministries, and relevant bodies—should explore feasible solutions to enhance media users’ awareness and understanding of this issue.