Targeted online abuse driving young women away from social media, claims report

According to a global survey conducted by Plan International, a development and humanitarian organization in the United Kingdom, a torrent of online abuse is driving young girls to quit major social media platforms - including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - with nearly 60 percent experiencing some form of online harassment.

The survey concludes that approximately one in five girls and young women have completely abandoned or cut down their use of social media platforms after experiencing some form of targeted harassment, with some experiencing online abuse being as young as eight years old - adding that an additional 12% have changed the way they express themselves in online spaces, as a form of self-censorship.

This survey comprises 14,000 female respondents between the ages of 15-25 years, spread across 22 countries including Brazil, the United States and India, and provides a comprehensive insight into the growing issue of cyber-bullying, harassment and abuse in online spaces. The survey highlights that 39% of the respondents suffered harassment on Facebook, 23% on Instagram, 14% on WhatsApp, 9% on Twitter, and 6% on TikTok. The survey highlights that nearly half of the young women being targeted online were threatened with physical or sexual violence, with many citing that the abuse took a mental toll on them, with approximately 25% of the respondents adding that it made them feel physically unsafe.

In Plan International’s comprehensive study, which it has stated that it will be sharing with social media companies and legislating bodies, it can be observed that this influx of online abuse across major social media platforms was exacerbated in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all communication was centred around online activity. Plan International urged international legislative bodies and social media companies to introduce more stringent measures to ensure that online spaces are governed effectively, making it a safe, secure and constructive environment for young women to express themselves and thrive - and which provides a formal mechanism for punishing online harassment.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have stated that they use artificial intelligence to track bullying and malicious content, allowing users to have more control over their online experience. The study concluded that the pre-existing reporting tools across major social media platforms are ineffective in stemming the flow of this abuse, which included “explicit messages, pornographic images, and cyberstalking”.