Generation Z and cyberviolence: between digital platforms use and risk awareness

ABSTRACT

The article focuses on the results of a national empirical research on Generation Z’s perceptions and experiences of cyberviolence. This term refers to aggressive and intentional actions, carried out, through electronic tools by a single person or a group, which deliberately aim to hurt or damage another who cannot defend himself. The main aim of this study was to gather national data on cyberviolence in order to explore better how young people (aged 18–25) understand and experience this phenomenon and what maybe the most suitable actions to limit it. The data analysis explored three main issues: (1) The main platforms used by Generation Z on which cyberviolence can occur; (2) The level of knowledge and awareness that Generation Z has about the different forms of cyberviolence and their dangerousness; (3) The features of social media perceived as most dangerous by the respondents. The article also proposes a reflection on the actual level of awareness of young people about this issue and the need to consider digital literacy programmes that aim to teach young people how to analyse the media critically.

KEYWORDS:

• Cyberviolence
• Generation Z
• digital platforms
• digital risks
• digital literacy
• youth

Disclosure statement

Authors conceived of the idea, collected the literature, the references, and the data, and wrote the paper together. In particular, Simona Tirocchi and Isabella Crespi are responsible of the paragraphs 2; Marta Scocco is responsible of the paragraphs 3. The introduction, part 4 and conclusions were written together.

Notes

1 They are also called: Gen Z, iGen, Post-Millennial, Centennial, Zoomer Plural. This term, according to the Pew Research Center (Dimock, 2019), can be defined as those young people born between 1997 and 2012, with an extension of meaning still open to later years, given the fluidity of these categories. Istat (2016) in Italy, on the other hand, suggests a broader vision of the term, which is closer to the Italian context, in which all those born between 1995 and 2015 are included.

2 Web 2.0 is described by Tim O’Reilly (2009) who mentions the main characteristics that differentiate it from Web 1.0. These features have been summarised by o’Reilly with reference to three dimensions: 1) the web model, considered as a platform 2) the role of the user, who is able to control and manage content, becoming more and more author through the use of social networks, blogs, wiki 3) skills related, among others, to services, the architecture of participation, scalability, remixability of data sources, the concept of collective intelligence.

3 Some research highlights the ability of social media to build identities and develop numerous skills, related not only to the production of content, but also to the individual and social management of emotions, identity and relationships (Scolari, 2018).

4 Rainie and Wellman (2012) examine the ‘triple revolution’ that has contributed to a very profound social transformation: 1) the rise of social networking; 2) the capacity of the Internet to empower individuals; 3) the always-on connectivity of mobile devices.

5 In 2021 born Meta Platforms, Inc., an American multinational technology conglomerate that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, among other products and services.

6 By applying the definition of Davis and Chouinard (2016), affordances are about how the platforms shapes the ways they can be used or not used.

7 ‘EU Kids Online’ is a thematic network funded by the EC Safer Internet plus Programme (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/index_en.htm) from 2006 to 2009. It has examined research findings from 21 member states into how children and young people use the internet and new online technologies. The aim was to identify comparable findings across Europe and evaluate the social, cultural and regulatory influences affecting online opportunities and risks, along with children’s and parents’ responses, in order to inform policy (adapted from: www.eukidsonline.net).

8 Content risks refers to a child exposed to unwelcome and inappropriate content. This label includes sexual, pornographic and violent images; some forms of advertising; racist, discriminatory or hate speech material; and websites advocating unhealthy or dangerous behaviours, such as self harm, suicide and anorexia.

Contact risks refers to a child that participates in risky communication, such as with an adult seeking inappropriate contact or soliciting a child for sexual purposes, or with individuals attempting to radicalise a child or persuade him or her to take part in unhealthy or dangerous behaviours.

Conduct risks: refers to a child behaves in a way that contributes to risky content or contact. This label comprises children writing or creating hateful materials about other children, inciting racism or posting or distributing sexual images, including material they have produced themselves. (UNICEF, 2017; as cited in Livingstone & Stoilova, 2021).

9 The CO:RE project is a Coordination and Support Action within the Horizon 2020 framework, which aims to build an international knowledge base on the impact of technological transformations on children and youth (Livingstone & Stoilova, 2021).

10 Hate speech is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as ‘public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simona Tirocchi

Simona Tirocchi, Ph.D. in Communication Sciences, is an Associate Professor of Media Sociology at the Torino University, Department of Philosophy and Education. Her main research areas include digital literacy, digital education, cyberbullying, teens and transmedia skills, gender studies

Marta Scocco

Marta Scocco, Ph.D. – Doctor Europaeus, in Human Sciences, is contract lecturer and research fellow in Sociology of culture and communication at University of Macerata, Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism. Her main research activities include studies about: families, intergenerational relationships, cultural processes and migration

Isabella Crespi

Isabella Crespi, Ph.D. in Sociology and methodology, is an Associate Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Macerata, Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism. Her main research areas include family, education, gender differences, cultural aspects