Targets of Online Hate: Examining Determinants of Victimization Among Young Finnish Facebook Users

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Abstract

Drawing from routine activity theory (RAT), this article seeks to determine the crucial factors contributing to youth victimization through online hate. Although numerous studies have supported RAT in an online context, research focusing on users of particular forms of social media is lacking. Using a sample of 15- to 18-year-old Finnish Facebook users ( n = 723), we examine whether the risk of online hate victimization is more likely when youth themselves produced online hate material, visited online sites containing potentially harmful content, and deliberately sought out online hate material. In addition, we examine whether the risk of victimization is higher if respondents are worried about online victimization and had been personally victimized offline. The discussion highlights the accumulation of online and offline victimization, the ambiguity of the roles of victims and perpetrators, and the artificiality of the division between the online and offline environments among young people.

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Most cited references 21

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Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide.

Sameer Hinduja, Justin Patchin (2010)

Empirical studies and some high-profile anecdotal cases have demonstrated a link between suicidal ideation and experiences with bullying victimization or offending. The current study examines the extent to which a nontraditional form of peer aggression--cyberbullying--is also related to suicidal ideation among adolescents. In 2007, a random sample of 1,963 middle-schoolers from one of the largest school districts in the United States completed a survey of Internet use and experiences. Youth who experienced traditional bullying or cyberbullying, as either an offender or a victim, had more suicidal thoughts and were more likely to attempt suicide than those who had not experienced such forms of peer aggression. Also, victimization was more strongly related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors than offending. The findings provide further evidence that adolescent peer aggression must be taken seriously both at school and at home, and suggest that a suicide prevention and intervention component is essential within comprehensive bullying response programs implemented in schools.