Dr. Caitlin Elsaesser recently wrote an article entitled “How social media turns online arguments between teens into real-world violence” that was published on The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization that publishes articles written by academic experts and edited by a team of journalists.
The article explores how social media triggers and intensifies offline violence amongst young people. Read more on The Conversation.
The advent of social media has radically altered how people, especially young people, communicate. While the rise of cyberbullying is well recognized, the role social media plays in youth violence is not.
In a phenomenon known as “cyberbanging,” social media can intensify conflicts among youth in neighborhoods with high rates of violence, leading to offline violence, including physical fights and gun violence.
University of Connecticut School of Social Work assistant professor Caitlin Elsaesser has received a two-year $250,000 K01 award from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to research how social media conflict contributes to youth firearm violence and develop a social media-based intervention to address this pressing issue. Read more on UConn Today.
Dr. Caitlin Elsaesser is examining the use of social media in facilitating violence among young people who live in urban neighborhoods where violence occurs. “Studies suggest that social media is an important space for both the occurrence of violence and violence prevention, but some key questions remain around how social media facilitates violence,” Dr. Elsaesser… Read more on UConn Today.
Dr. Elsaesser received a Junior Faculty Summer Stipend, which carries $2,500 of support for building grant funded research. Funding will support secondary analysis of data that will address the linkage between violence victimization exposure and health in adolescents. Read more on UConn Today.