There’s nothing virtual about this! The psychological toll of online harassment

Various studies have been carried out into the extent of online harassment on journalist, but until now there have been none that offered real psychological data on its impact. Report authors Hannah Storm and Professor Anthony Feinstein present the findings of their study which shows that online harassment elicits an array of psychological difficulties, and show, for the first time, that online harassment is associated with quantifiable symptoms of moral injury. This conversation offers an insight into how online harassment impacts the mental health of those targeted, and offers some suggestions as to what newsrooms, the industry and individuals might do to mitigate against these difficulties and support those impacted.

• #mental health #journalism #online harassment #psychology #social impact #society #trauma #wellbeing