The Effects of Digital Violence on the Mental Status of Communication Faculty Academicians

Abstract

In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine the views and suggestions of communication faculty academics about how they behaved against digital violence. The data were analyzed qualitatively by inductive technique. According to the results obtained in the research, the majority of the participants stated that they encountered harassment on social networking sites, and the desire to communicate with fake social media accounts caused the participants to worry. On the other hand, participants who faced threats from social media found a solution by complaining about individuals who used digital violence on the sharing site. Participants who faced digital violence tried to prevent digital violence by taking legal action. In cases of encountering digital violence on social media, they filed a criminal complaint with the police department and stated that a new legal department should be opened by the participants and emphasized that the digital violence unit should be opened in order to prevent digital violence. According to the results obtained in the research, the majority of the participants stated that they encountered harassment on social networking sites, and the desire to communicate with fake social media accounts caused the participants to worry. On the other hand, the participants, who faced threats from social media, found a solution by complaining about individuals who used digital violence on the sharing site. Another result obtained from the research is that the participants who encountered digital violence tried to prevent digital violence by resorting to legal means. He made a criminal complaint to the police department about the situations of encountering digital violence on social media and stated that the participants should open a new legal department and emphasized that the digital violence unit should be opened in order to prevent digital violence of the participants.