The role of social networking sites in the spread of patterns of violence against women - a field study within the framework of the theory of third-person influence

The interest of many individuals has increased recently in what is broadcast on social networking sites and captures the attention of the majority. Cases of crime and violence against women have been of interest to the pioneers of social networking sites recently. Pay attention to the effects of social networking sites by conducting more research, especially since future expectations confirm their continued use and reliance on them.
Hence, the study aims to monitor the role of social networking sites in the spread of the phenomenon of violence against women, along with some sub-objectives such as: identifying patterns of violence against women through social networking sites and practiced against them in social reality, revealing the most social networking sites and applications that promote violence Practices against women, determining the extent to which users are aware of the effects of exposure to the content of violence against women through social networking sites on self and others, identifying the extent to which individuals support the imposition of censorship on what is published about women through social networking sites.
The researcher used the third-person effect theory, the hypothesis of which is based on "the possibility that individuals who are members of a group of recipients who are exposed to persuasive communication messages (whether those messages have a persuasive intention or not) expect that the greatest impact of those messages will be on others, compared to In particular, whether these others are within the target audience of those messages or not, which leads to subsequent behavior based on this perception or expectation. Me) nor on you (On You), but on them (On Them), i.e. the third person.
 
The field study sample consisted of a random sample of 410 male and female respondents of social networking sites, aged 18 years and over, in the governorates of Greater Cairo.
The researcher identified a number of questions and hypotheses on which various statistical tests were conducted in order to reach the results of the study.
This study reached a number of results, the most important of which are:
- The results of the study revealed a high rate of respondents' use of social networking sites; The majority of the respondents were exposed to social networking sites on a daily basis.
- The results of the study showed that cases of violence against women spread widely in Egyptian society. The results of the study also indicated that the majority of the respondents agreed that social networking sites have contributed significantly to the increase in the spread of patterns of violence against women, as the use and circulation of social networking sites Scenes containing violence against women leads to its recurrence. Facebook and Twitter were at the top of the list of social networking applications and sites that most promoted the phenomenon of violence against women, which affected its spread. The most recent issue of violence against women was of interest to the pioneers of social networking sites, "The Case of Naira Ashraf" and it showed Results The use of women in vulgarly degrading advertisements and the mockery of women-related publications on social networking sites are among the most important factors that greatly affected the increase in the spread of patterns of violence against women through social networking sites and in social reality, in addition to the absence of values and morals and shedding light on violent crimes. Against women without regard for the sanctity of the body or privacy.
- The results of the study also showed that verbal abuse and deprivation of education, followed by emotional abuse, manipulation of feelings, withholding money, belittling opinion, limiting one's abilities, stalking and harassment are among the most common types of violence that women are exposed to, whether through cyberspace or in actual reality.
- The results of the study indicated that one of the biggest effects of exposure to the content of violence against women through social networking sites among the respondents themselves is to enhance the feeling of fear of others, followed by the reflection of violence on their behavior in reality, while the respondents indicated that one of the largest effects of exposure to the content of violence against women Through social networking sites on the individuals around them is the use of social networking sites to send threatening messages, followed by an increase in cases of husbands beating their wives, the spread of physical harassment in social reality, and the violation of privacy.
- The study revealed that the majority of the respondents agree to a large degree with imposing censorship on what is published about women through social networking sites, and they also see that the individuals around them agree to the same degree with imposing censorship.