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Exploring Survivor Experiences on Social Media in the #MeToo Era: Clinical Recommendations for Addressing Impacts on Mental Health and Relationships
Abstract
Since the inception of the viral #MeToo Movement in 2017, news coverage of sexual assault incidents and related public discourse have become much more prevalent on social media platforms. While this hashtag activism has prompted important social discourse, little is known about how exposure to this type of trauma-related content affects survivors of sexual violence navigating these online spaces. To explore this phenomenon, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with young adult women survivors of sexual assault who regularly use social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter). Participants were asked to reflect on sexual assault–related content (i.e., news stories and related public discourse) which they have observed on social media platforms. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data found survivors described (1) negative changes to their mental health and relationships in the face of these exposures, (2) certain types of content (e.g., rape culture narratives) which were particularly distressing to them, (3) how they coped with distress tied to this exposure, and (4) recommendations for clinicians on how to help survivors navigate social media in a healthier way. The present study is a first step toward understanding the impact of online social movements on trauma survivors and provides concrete clinical recommendations for therapists working with sexual assault survivors in this unique post-#MeToo context.
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Passively scrolling through newsfeeds may trigger traumatic memories among people with trauma histories.
“For example, passively scrolling through newsfeeds may trigger traumatic memories among people with trauma histories (PettyJohn et al., 2022).”
From Are active and passive social media use related to mental health, wellbeing, and social support outcomes? A meta-analysis of 141 studies (2023) · cites this paper as PettyJohn et al., 2022
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References 37 · Cited by 18
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Alaggia R., Wang S. (2020). “I never told anyone until the #metoo movement”: What can we learn from sexual abuse and sexual assault disclosures made through social media? Child Abuse & Neglect, 103(104312), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104312 · DOI
- Nutbeam M., Mereish E. H. (2021). Negative attitudes and beliefs toward the #MeToo movement on Twitter. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(13), 2278–2303. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211001470 · DOI
- Smith S. G., Zhang X., Basile K. C., Merrick M. T., Wang J., Kresnow M., Chen J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 data brief – Updated release. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Young D. S., Casey E. A. (2019). An examination of the sufficiency of small qualitative samples. Social Work Research, 43(1), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svy026 · DOI
Metadata
- Authors
- PettyJohn, M. E., Anderson, G., & McCauley, H. L.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- PettyJohn, Morgan E.
- Venue
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2021-12-03
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 21-22
- Pages
- NP20677-NP20700
- ISSN
- 0886-2605 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-6518
- OpenAlex
- W3216326334
- Semantic Scholar
- d04c5bb3b9e6b89fc1ff1e27f8e1702a42d3c921
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 3.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Interpersonal Violence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Keywords
- sexual assault survivors, #MeToo, social media, trauma exposure, mental health, interpersonal relationships, coping, online social movements, clinical guidelines, young adult women, Facebook, Twitter
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Mental Health, Rape, Sex Offenses, Survivors, Young Adult, Social Media
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