Online harassment takes on many forms, from offensive messages and name-calling to deep fake videos and serious threats.
"Research shows that it has significant consequences for the targeted individuals, their communities, and society as a whole. To provide adequate support to those affected, we need to ensure we understand their reactions,” says Magdalena Celuch.
A survey among Finnish and European adults revealed that over 30% have recently experienced online harassment. A vast majority of those affected chose to oppose the perpetrator, most commonly by blocking their online profiles. In addition to the high prevalence of online harassment, the results revealed other causes for concern.
“Confronting the perpetrator was a surprisingly common choice among our participants, especially those who admitted to having harassed others online. Although confrontation can sometimes bring a sense of agency and closure, it may also lead to conflict escalation and negatively impact well-being,” Celuh explains.
A significant part of the research focused on online harassment experiences among professionals in the Finnish public sphere. Around 30% of the surveyed academics and 60% of politicians and journalists reported recent experiences of online harassment. Despite this, the majority of those affected decided not to take any action to counter the abuse.
“This is very different from what we have seen in the general population. It may stem from professionals’ sense of responsibility to allow discussion about their work. Instead, they may turn to self-censorship, avoiding polarizing topics or reducing their public presence. This can have far-reaching negative consequences for public debate,” elaborates Celuch.
Indeed, one in five harassed professionals reported engaging in self-censorship. This detrimental effect can also spread even further; an experimental part of the study showed that witnessing the harassment of others resulted in anxiety among their work community.
In her doctoral dissertation, Celuch also identified protective factors against these negative effects. Affected professionals are less likely to self-censor when they feel supported by their colleagues and supervisors. Overall, individuals who are highly experienced in using the Internet and social media are more likely to oppose perpetrators by leveraging available tools—such as blocking users’ profiles or reporting incidents to site administrators.
“Developing competence and confidence in Internet use, as well as building supportive networks, can better equip individuals to deal with online harassment, should it happen to them in the future,” Celuch emphasises.
Magdalena Celuch is originally from Kraków, Poland. She currently works as a researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University. She is continuing her research on online harassment, focusing on how different coping behaviours impact the future well-being of affected individuals.
Public defence on Friday 20 September
MSocSc Magdalena Celuch’s doctoral dissertation in the field of social psychology titled Aftermath of abuse. Reactions of targets and bystanders to online harassment will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tampere University at 12 o’clock on Friday, 20 September 2024. The venue is auditorium K103, Linna Building, city centre campus (address: Kalevantie 5, 33100, Tampere). The Opponent will be Senior Lecturer Samuel Farley from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. The Custos will be Professor Atte Oksanen from Tampere University’s Faculty of Social Sciences of Tampere.