Browsing by Author "Catani, Hanna"

The study investigates, what kind of political operating environment Instagram is for young female politicians from the point of view of online harassment and how the experienced online harassment manifests in Instagram`s private messages. The study looks at what kind of harassment occurs in Instagram comment fields and private messages and what kind of effects it has. In addition, the study observes the effects of Instagram’s technical features and platform culture on the experience of online harassment. The research utilizes a socio-technical perspective and both feminist and affordance theories. Qualitative content analysis is used as the analysis method and the material consists of four transcribed interviews of young female politicians from different parties and the comment sections of their public Instagram accounts from the period surrounding the 2023 parliamentary elections. The analysis of online harassment reveals many forms of gendered harassment, such as comments on appearance, sexual harassment and age-related belittling. Private messages are highlighted as a channel for online harassment. According to the study, the effects of online harassment vary individually, but self-censorship and anxiety, as well as tiring extra effort, often appear. The affordance analysis shows that the platform`s moderation features have developed and the discussion culture is relatively permissive for women`s and equality issues. According to the material, Instagram appears to be a welcoming environment for young female politicians from the online harassment point of view, although combating harassment on the platform requires effort and success is influenced by the individual characteristics and abilities of each participant.