Study Completed of Youth Service's Social Media Effectiveness
Study Completed of Youth Service's Social Media Effectiveness
The Power of WhatsOK to Reach Youth and Prevent Abuse
In 2021, Stop it Now! created What's OK? to provide at-risk youth with accurate, stigma-free information and answers to questions they may otherwise be too ashamed to ask. Along with the creation of the platform, Stop It Now! also created social media advertisements for WhatsOK to better reach youth who needed support.
The CDC's Center for Violence Prevention Research recently completed a study including a retrospective review of WhatsOK's advertising performance and website traffic concluding that young people who have questions about their sexual thoughts, behaviors, or interests can be reached via social media advertisements and that these advertisements can be effective drivers of help seeking behavior.
Considering that the majority of sexual harm of youth (76.7% for boys and 70.1% for girls) was committed by other minors, primarily acquaintances, it is especially vital that we connect with and support youth early in order for prevention to be successful.
Our partners at the Center for Violence Prevention Research's recently published paper focuses on the youth we help on WhatsOK, and explores how these youth can meaningfully and safely engage in research.
As a member of the National Hotline Consortium, Stop It Now! is supporting a survey from The National Domestic Violence Hotline to better understand online abuse and harassment experiences.
Reach out to our free, confidential Helpline today with your concerns, or share this invaluable resource with a friend, family member, colleague, or acquaintance who has their own questions that they would like some guidance about.