Pics, Texts, and Tracking
Understanding and Addressing Adolescent Digital Dating Abuse
Relationship violence remains a pervasive reality for young people, but it doesn't always look the way adults expect. While professionals may recognize verbal, emotional, and physical abuse, many are less familiar with how technology and social media have become tools of power and control in teen relationships. From tracking and monitoring to public humiliation and coerced sexting, digital dating abuse takes many forms, and it's happening in the devices young people carry everywhere. This workshop equips youth-serving professionals to recognize the warning signs of digital dating abuse across different platforms and identities, and provides concrete strategies for opening up critical conversations with both survivors and those who perpetrate harm. Through real-world examples and interactive discussion, you'll learn how to identify when technology crosses the line from connection to control, and how to support young people in navigating these complex situations. Whether you work in schools, clinical settings, or community programs, you'll walk away ready to address one of the most urgent, and often invisible, forms of relationship violence affecting young people.
Learning Objectives
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Define digital dating abuse and explain how it connects to larger systems of power and control in adolescent relationships
Identify how digital dating abuse manifests across different social media platforms and describe its impact on young people's mental health and well-being
Analyze how digital dating abuse may look different for youth based on their identities
Apply at least three strategies to initiate conversations about digital dating abuse and support youth who are experiencing or perpetrating harm
