Digital Dating Abuse
Digital dating abuse is when someone repeatedly controls, pressures, or threatens someone they’re seeing or dating, through their phone or online. Below are statistics about specific digital behaviors that reflect an unhealthy relationship. We share these stats with you so you can know where to draw the digital line in a relationship. These stats are deal breakers. - Family Violence Prevention Fund
- About 1 in 3 teens said partner had text messaged them up to 30 times/hour to check on what they were doing, where, and who with. Love is not Abuse
- 1 in 4 teens in a relationship have been called names, harassed or put down by their partner through cell phones and texting. Love is not Abuse
- One in five teen girls and one in ten younger teen girls (13 to 16) have electronically sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves. Even more teen girls, 37 percent, have sent or posted sexually suggestive text, email or instant messages. (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com. 2008)
- More than half of teen girls (51 percent) say pressure from a guy is a reason girls send sexy messages or images, and 18 percent of teen boys say pressure from a girl is a reason. (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com. 2008)
- 68% of teens regard boyfriends and girlfriends sharing private or embarrassing videos or photos of a dating partner to be serious problem. (Technology & Teen Dating Abuse Survey, 2007)
- Almost two-thirds of teens (63%) judge threatening physical harm using common tech devices to be serious. (Technology & Teen Dating Abuse Survey, 2007)
- One in five teens in a relationship (22%) have been asked by cellphone or the internet to engage in sexual activity when they did not want to. (Technology & Teen Dating Abuse Survey, 2007)
- Nearly one in five teens in a relationship (19%) say that their partner has used a cellphone or the internet to spread rumors about them. (Technology & Teen Dating Abuse Survey, 2007)
- 78% of teens harassed and embarrassed by their partners on networking sites didn’t tell their parents. (Technology & Teen Dating Abuse Survey, 2007)
- 29% of teens who shared a naked photo of themselves report that they shared the image with someone who they never met in person and only knew online. (CBS News, Dec. 30, 2009))
