"I Never Did Those Things They Said!": Image, Coercive Control, and Intrusion From Former Partners' Techology-Mediated Abuse

Abstract

The pervasive nature of the internet and social media presents new dynamics for abuse perpetrators engaging in obsessive relational intrusion practices. Drawing on Katz and Aakhus’s (2002) Theory of Apparatgeist, we explore how abuse victims understand the “spirit” of technology when used against them. Victims’ (N = 187) qualitative responses were analyzed to uncover meanings attributed to technology-mediated abuse after leaving their violent partners. Primary themes of harassing intrusion and coercive control were understood by participants in a number of ways – both overlapping and distinct. We discuss these findings in terms of victims’ primary identity concerns related to presenting versus perceived selves.

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Iowa Journal of Communication

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Lever, Katie and Eckstein, Jessica (2020) ""I Never Did Those Things They Said!": Image, Coercive Control, and Intrusion From Former Partners' Techology-Mediated Abuse," Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 52: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol52/iss1/6

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