In the last two decades, a substantial increase in available social media platforms and social media usage has been seen. Research has shown that adolescents use social media more than any other age group does. While sociologists have begun to investigate the positive and negative consequences of social media use, little research has been conducted examining the ways that social media can be used within interpersonal relationships. The aim of this study is to explore the intersection of cyberbullying and cyber dating abuse within the adolescent age group.
In order to examine this relationship, a quantitative survey was administered to high school students in the Capital Region of New York State. This survey asked students questions about their experiences as both a perpetrator and a victim of cyber abuse within friendships and intimate partner relationships. The data collected from this survey will aid sociologists in developing intervention and prevention methods specifically targeted at the adolescent age group, as well as more comprehensively understand the impacts and consequences of social media being used as a mechanism for violence within relationships.