A Thin Line: MTV’s Campaign Against Digital Abuse With Facebook, MySpace, Anti-Defamation League And More

Our new, multi-year pro-social campaign, A THIN LINE, launched today, in partnership with Facebook, MySpace, The Family Violence Prevention Fund, the Anti-Defamation League and more. Our goal is to empower youth to stop the spread of digital abuse in the form of “sexting,” cyberbullying and digital dating abuse.

A new study conducted by MTV and Associated Press uncovered these staggering figures:

– 50% of 14-24 Year Olds Have Experienced Digital Abuse
– 3 in 10 Have Sent or Received Nude ‘Sext’ Messages
– 61% who have “sexted” report being pressured to do so at least once
– 29% have shared naked images of themselves with someone they only knew online
– Targets of digital abuse are almost 3x as likely to contemplate suicide
– Targets of digital abuse are 3x more likely to consider dropping out of school
– Only 1 in 4 believe that their digital actions could have legal consequences

Watch these powerful new PSA’s we’re premiering today…

My friend and colleague, Jason Rzepka, said today: “They’re dealing with a reality that no generation before them has ever encountered — being connected 24/7, all week long, across myriad digital platforms. It’s part of being a young person from now on. There’s no roadmap. And so far, a true code of ethics hasn’t emerged. We’re going to partner with young people to be a resource, connect them to help when they need it, open up a conversation, and hopefully help figure it out. We want every member of our audience to be empowered to draw their own line.”

My boss, MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman, said it well: “Our audience lives online, and while every generation deals with their own set of abuse issues, the digital sphere exponentially increases opportunities for misuse. There is a very thin line between private and public, this moment and forever, love and abuse, and words and wounds. A Thin Line is built to empower our audience to draw their own line between digital use and digital abuse.”

Please join me in supporting this critical new effort.

Comments

One response to “A Thin Line: MTV’s Campaign Against Digital Abuse With Facebook, MySpace, Anti-Defamation League And More”

  1. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    This is a great article! I'm so glad that someone has finally decided to discuss the issue of digital abuse. Have you guys heard about the competition where young adults and teens can create an idea of their own to help end digital abuse? The winning idea gets $10,000!
    http://www.athinline.org/challenge

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