Digital violence and mobile phone use in adolescent couples: new challenges for educational intervention

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have caused drastic changes in the relational dynamics of adolescents, providing new channels to exercise and suffer violence. The objective of this research is threefold: it is intended to evaluate the possession, use and parental supervision of the mobile phone in the group of adolescents; identify digital violence in adolescents' first affective/sexual relationships; and verify its relationship with other forms of online violence such as cyberbullying, cyberstalking and grooming. The sample is made up of 715 adolescents (47% girls) with an age range that goes from 13 to 19 years, with a mean of 15.64 (DT = 1.28) years. The results confirm the omnipresence of ICTs in the lives of adolescent couples and establish a relationship between digital violence and the use of technological devices and virtual spaces, which they access with little parental supervision. In addition, it is evident that adolescents face multiple forms of violence in the online environment, both at the sentimental level through cybercontrol and aggression, as well as insults or humiliation; as well as in the social sphere, since they have been victims of cyberbullying, grooming and cyberstalking. In short, new challenges of educational intervention are revealed for education professionals and families, in the face of the commitment to ensure that the youngest live their relationships free of violence.