Adolescent Digital Self-Harm Over Time: Prevalence and Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Digital self-harm, the anonymous online posting, sending, or otherwise sharing of hurtful content about oneself, has not received the same amount of scholarly scrutiny as other forms of self-directed abuse. In the current paper, we analyze three independent national surveys of U.S. teens (aged 13–17, M = 14.96) in repeat cross-sectional studies conducted in 2016 (N = 4,742), 2019 (N = 4,250), and 2021 (N = 2,546) to assess the prevalence of two measures of digital self-harm. We examine demographic differences within each sample (gender, race, and sexual orientation), whether experience with cyberbullying was associated with these behaviors, and changes over time. Overall, the prevalence of digital self-harm has been increasing over time, and changes in demographic influences were observed. Implications for identifying, preventing, and responding to digital self-harm are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital self-harm
• self-harm
• self-cyberbullying
• mental health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical information

Projects approved by the Institutional Review Board of the university of the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

Data for this study were collected with financial support from the Digital Trust Foundation, Facebook Research, and an anonymous contributor.

Notes on contributors

Justin W. Patchin

Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D. – Justin W. Patchin is a Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He has written eight books and numerous academic and professional articles on adolescent behaviors online, with particular focus on cyberbullying, social networking, and sexting.

Sameer Hinduja

Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. – Sameer Hinduja is a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University. He is recognized internationally for his groundbreaking work on the use and misuse of emerging technologies among youth. His research seeks to illuminate how best to promote civility, deter harmful behavior, build health communities, and proactively reduce victimization online.