Association between online harassment and exposure to harmful online content: A cross-national comparison between the United States and Finland

• Cross-national survey study on the association between online harassment and exposure to harmful online content.
• Being a victim of online harassment has a statistically significant association with exposure to harmful online content.
• In particular, viewing websites relating to eating disorders and how to be thin were significant in both US and Finland.
• Existing offline societal differences appear to be diminishing in the online context.

The key focus in this article study is to examine the association between online harassment and exposure to websites related to self-harm or negative self-image, along with several other independent variables. Our data were collected from two countries, the U.S. and Finland, thus providing a chance for a cross-national comparison regarding these associations. According to the results, significant association between online harassment and most notably exposure to websites relating to eating disorders was found. Furthermore, subjective wellbeing (SWB), age and gender were significantly associated with online harassment. There were only minor differences between U.S. and Finland, indicating certain levels of cultural homogenization regarding the online space.