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Click Surveillance of Your Partner! Digital Violence among University Students in England

Abstract:

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have given rise to new forms of contact as well as new forms of violence. This research analyses whether ICTs are the cause of a new form of digital violence and studies the prevalence of this digital violence exercised through screens among university couples. A quantitative and qualitative methodology was applied in this study: a non-probabilistic purposive or discretionary sample of 303 (Age = 22.79; SD = 47.32; 58.7% male), with the use of an ad hoc questionnaire, and two focus groups of students studying in the same country. The results reveal a prevalence of 51.04% in the perception of digital violence through electronic devices in dating relationships among young people; 15.84% in the prevalence of digital violence in young couples’ relationships; 9.36% in the prevalence of traditional violence; and 35.78% in the tolerance of digital violence among young people. The results highlight a slightly higher prevalence of women compared with men in digital violence. We conclude that there is a significant prevalence of digital violence among these young couples in the university context, which should be the subject of the creation of different awareness-raising, prevention and specific training programmes against it.