Sexual Harassment on Social Media

Ryan Sjoberg Blog Post 3

Lora Strey

Composition 101-12

            “Next Time Someone Says Women Aren’t Victims Of Harassment, Show Them This.” Is a comic story about girls being harassed sexually or verbally by men.  In this comic story, women are pictured being verbally attacked by animal-like men that treat women like objects.  While reading this comic, it is easy to relate it to real life because it is realistic to actual events that take place at parties, gatherings, or even just an everyday passing on the street.  I am going to relate the sexual harassment described in this article to the sexual harassment that happens on social media. 

            The first question one may ask is “Is sexual harassment even evident on social networks?”  Many don’t realize it, but the answer is yes.  In fact, if you are fresh out of a serious relationship, you are at the highest risk of being harassed.  Social media allows people to keep up on what anybody is doing for 24 hours a day if we would really want to.  This can lead to an obsession with a person leading to jealousy, stalking, and if serious enough, sexual harassment.  Social media isn’t just a hangout to have fun and mingle with your friends; kids need to be careful who they associate themselves with on the Internet and not get caught up with bullying/harassing people.

            There are multiple forms of sexual harassment that take place on social media.  According to a University of North Carolina website, the majority of sexual harassment that takes place on the Internet is verbal or graphic harassment.  Verbal harassment refers to sexual messages or sexting a victim that is initiated by the harasser and not consented by the victim.  This could be sending disturbing texts or maybe even rape threats.  Graphic harassment refers to sending erotic pictures of oneself to a victim without their consent.  Sexual harassment doesn’t always come with actions; it could come in pictures or words and we may not even realize its sexual harassment.

            Finally, as we have learned sexual harassment on social networks is definitely a problem, but it is even worse on Facebook.  According to a US news blog, 62% of online abuse in the US happens on Facebook.  Facebook is the most widely used social media site, so the probably of predators being on there is higher than any other site.  The website also states that being a college graduate reduces the chance of sexual harassment online.  Obviously being educated about it helps and can keep you away from predators.  The less educated have a higher chance at being harassed.  63% of non-college graduates reported getting harassed over social media.  Sexual harassment on the Internet is a scary thing and if we could get educated in this area, we could help more young women avoid these situations.

            In conclusion, social media can be a honey hole for predators.  They can stalk you when you are vulnerable, harass you in multiple ways, and that education helps you stay away from predators.  I hope the article “Next Time Someone Says Women Aren’t Victims Of Harassment, Show Them This.” Helped people relate to real life harassment situations.

Works Cited

"Internet Harassment - SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON THE INTERNET."Internet Harassment - SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON THE INTERNET. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

"Social Media: A New Channel for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination." Social Media: A New Channel for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.