Examining the Relationship of Rurality and Digital Distress with Cybervictimization Experiences of U.S. Adults

• In Event: Perspectives on Online & Offline Victimization: Research using the 2021 Reactions to Crime Survey

Abstract

Infrastructure policy and geography have created an unequal distribution of broadband technology across communities in the United States, particularly in rural areas, leading to marked divides in quality of access and downstream outcomes. This analysis examines whether community-level digital technology is related to cybervictimization experiences above and beyond individual online behavior, and how cybervictimization among residents of low-technology communities differs from those in high-technology communities. The findings of this work inform how community-level characteristics may yet influence variation in victimization even in the context of globalizing internet technology.

Author

• Rachel McNealey, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University