Digital silencing, Chilling effect, Participatory withdrawal
Self-censorship represents a fundamental erosion of digital participation and free expression caused by fear of abuse. In a study of female journalists that had experienced online violence, "30% self-censored on social media and 20% withdrew from all online interaction" (UNESCO, 2021). In 2019, of 18 women politicians in the UK not running for re-election, at least 3 of them cited online abuse and IIA as a reason for stepping down (Murphy, 2019).
This creates a particularly insidious form of harm because it appears voluntary while actually representing coerced behavioral change. The threat of abuse becomes so normalized that potential victims preemptively restrict their own participation, creating broader democratic and social harms as diverse voices are systematically excluded from digital discourse.