Presentation Schedule
“It’s a Private and Shameful Thing”: Young People with Intellectual Disabilities Making Sense of Unwanted Sexual Messages on Social Media (109752)
This presentation will be live-streamed via Zoom (Online Access)
Monday, 13 July 2026 10:15
Session: Session 1
Room: Live-Stream Room 4
Presentation Type:Live-Stream Presentation
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The increasing digitalization of young people’s daily lives has added a new dimension to their social relationships and everyday interactions. The rise in smartphone ownership and the relative affordability of mobile internet access have created a communication ecosystem in which young people can be online almost every moment of the day. This study examines how young people with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) experience and respond to unwanted sexual messages on social media, and how they make sense of these encounters in terms of risk, privacy, and morality. Using a qualitative, phenomenological design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 young people aged 14–24 at a special education high school in Turkey. The analysis focused on their reported and anticipated responses (e.g., deleting, blocking, reporting, telling a trusted adult, and occasionally reciprocating), their perceptions of online sexual risk, and the role of what is considered “private” and “shameful” in drawing bodily and social boundaries. Risk was commonly framed through moral language (e.g., bad, wrong, shameful), emotional discomfort, and fears of future harm or image circulation. The findings have implications for rights-based, disability-inclusive sexuality education and for child–computer interaction, particularly in the design of accessible online safety features and educational materials that speak to young people’s own moral and emotional vocabularies.
Authors:
Cansu Bolat Dinc, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
Fatma Nur Akcın, Marmara University, Tuerkiye
About the Presenter(s)
Cansu Bolat Dinç is currently a PhD student at the University of Plymouth, United Kingdom.
See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule
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