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Does Exposure Matter? Media, Education, and Experience Affecting Technology-Mediated Abuse Knowledge, Understanding, and Severity-Perceptions

Theorizing Criminality and Policing in the Digital Media Age

ISBN: 978-1-83909-112-4, eISBN: 978-1-83909-111-7

Publication date: 25 March 2021

Abstract

Purpose: This study explored technology-mediated abuse (TMA) by looking at the influence of topic exposure via education (in/formal), media (non/fictional), and personal experiences (self/close others) in shaping public knowledge, understandings, and perceptions of TMA.

Methodology: Community-sampled respondents (N = 551; n = 235 men, 263 women; aged 18–81 years, M = 27.42, SD = 12.31) reported their TMA awareness and topic exposure (n = 110; 20% of the total sample indicated prior exposure).

Findings: Results indicated TMA knowledge, understanding, and perceptions varied by prior sources of topic exposure. This suggests that TMA is a crime varying in public awareness and perceived repercussions.

Research limitations: Open-ended responses, although ideal for exploratory studies such as this one, limit the scope and power of quantitative analyses. Future work should test the current study’s conclusions in a generalizable, random sample via closed-item surveys.

Originality/value: Present findings elucidate which societal forces and education types are best suited for helping people understand TMA in all its complexity. Such understanding allows for practical considerations of the comparative in/effectiveness of formal curriculum and media in shaping cognitions regarding TMA victimization.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

Preliminary study data were presented at 2019 National Council of Family Relations convention in Fort Worth, Texas, and funded by CSU-AAUP Research Grant 2016-17. Thanks to Jessica Cherry for data-coding assistance.

Citation

Eckstein, J.J. and Quattro, R. (2021), "Does Exposure Matter? Media, Education, and Experience Affecting Technology-Mediated Abuse Knowledge, Understanding, and Severity-Perceptions", Wiest, J.B. (Ed.) Theorizing Criminality and Policing in the Digital Media Age (Studies in Media and Communications, Vol. 20), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020210000020007

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

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