Key Information:
Date surveyed: November 2025
Number of participants: 2,000 women and marginalized genders, with an additional sample of 500 men participating for certain survey questions.
Prevalence of Online Abuse is Extreme and Rising (including but not limited to harassment, bullying, hate speech, cyber stalking, unsolicited explicit image sharing)
- 46% of women across age groups have been a victim of online abuse
- Almost 70% of gen z women have been a victim of online abuse
- Almost 40% of gen z women say they experience online abuse often
- 55% of women aged 25-34 have been a victim of online abuse
- 52% of women aged 35-44 have been a victim of online abuse
- 36% of women aged 45-54 have been a victim of online abuse
Across age groups, these numbers have risen since our last study in 2023. For example, in 2023, “only” 53% of Gen Z women said they’d experienced online abuse, vs almost 70% now. Similarly, in 2023, “only” 36% of women across age groups said they experienced online abuse, vs 46% now.
Rates of online abuse further increase significantly when looking at women of color, with the highest rates presenting for Hispanic and Native American women. Race impacted women’s answers significantly throughout the report, as did sexual orientation.
Most Women Feel Unsafe Online
- 61% of women (all ages) say they feel unsafe online
- 73% of gen z women say they feel unsafe online
- Around 70% of women ages 25-44 say they feel unsafe online
- 54% of women aged 45-54 say they feel unsafe online
- 43% of women aged 55+ say they feel unsafe online
Women are Abandoning Social Media Apps Because of Safety & Wellbeing Concerns
- 43% of women (all ages) are reducing the amount of time they spend on social media
- 32% of women (all ages) have or are in the process of completely abandoning a social media app because of safety concerns
- Almost 40% of gen z women are reducing the amount of time they spend on social media
- Over 40% of gen z women have or are in the process of completely abandoning one or more social media app because of safety concerns. (This is consistent across age groups until age 45-54, at which point it goes to 25%)
- About 80% of gen z women (all ages) are taking some sort of step away from social media due to safety & wellbeing concerns
- About 75% of women (all ages) are taking some sort of step away from social media due to safety & wellbeing concerns.
Women Can’t Be Their Authentic Selves on Social Media
- 50% of women (all ages) say they cannot be their authentic selves on social media
- 61% of Gen Z women say they cannot be their authentic selves on social media.
- Close to 60% of millennial women say the same
Too Many Women Feel They Don’t Have As Much Freedom of Expression as Men Online
- 42% of women (all ages) do not think that women have as much freedom of expression as men online.
- 50% of gen z women say they do not think that women have as much freedom of expression as men online.
- Only 17% of women (all ages) could definitively say they feel that women have as much freedom of expression as men online
- Only 14% of gen z women could definitively say they feel that women women have as much freedom of expression as men online
Since the Recent U.S. Presidential Election and Associated Mainstream Social Media Policy Changes…
There’s Been A Clear Increase in Online Harassment During 2025 and Following the Recent U.S. Presidential Inauguration
- 52% of women (all ages) have noticed an increase in online harassment and inappropriate behavior on social media in 2025
- Almost 60% of gen z women say they have noticed an increase in online harassment and inappropriate behavior on social media in 2025
- 53% of 25-34 have noticed an increase in online harassment and inappropriate behavior on social media
- 54% of 35-44
- 46% of 45-54
- Almost 50% of 55+
Negative Content Increased Significantly on Social Media Since January 2025
- 74% of women across age groups noticed an increase in negative content on social media since January 2025.
- 24% of women across age groups noticed misogynistic content, 31% (sexually explicit/offensive content, 40% )violent or extremist content), 56% (fake news)
- 82% of gen z women have seen an increase in negative content (violent, explicit, fake, extremist, and misogynistic)
- About 75% of women aged 25-34 have seen an increase in negative content
- About 80% of women aged 35-44 have seen an increase in negative content
- Over 70% of women aged 44+ have seen an increase in negative content
- 83% of gen z men have seen an increase in negative content (violent, explicit, fake, extremist, and misogynistic)
- 42% of gen z men say they saw an increase in violent or extremist content specifically
- These statistics generally stayed consistent for men, and in some cases increased further, as age increased
Many Women Have Noticed it’s Become More Difficult to Communicate on Mainstream Social Media in 2025
- 20% of women across age groups noticed a negative change in the engagement, reach, and moderation of their own content in 2025
- 22% of gen z women have noticed a negative change in the engagement, reach, and moderation of their own content in 2025
- 22% for women ages 25-34
- Over 25% for women ages 35-44
Some Women are Significantly Less Likely to Post Their Thoughts Online Since January 2025 Specifically
- 20% of gen z women say they are less likely to post their true thoughts online since January 2025 due to fear of online censorship, abuse, or retaliation
- 22% of women aged 25-34 say they are less likely to post their true thoughts online since January 2025
- 21% of women aged 35-44 said the same.
- 18% of women (all ages), and 21% of women aged 16-44 say they are less likely to post their true thoughts online since January 2025.
Respondents had to have used social media at least 3 times within the last year to answer the above 2025 specific questions.
Women Experience the Loneliness Crisis Too
- 75% of women experience loneliness regularly
- 82% of gen z women experience loneliness regularly
- 40% of gen z women experience loneliness daily
- More gen z women than gen z men experience loneliness, but across other age groups, we tended to see similar results. The loneliness crisis is universal.
- 87% of women who identify as LGBTQ+ say they experience loneliness regularly, compared to 69% of heterosexual women.
- Cisfemale and transwomen both sit at 75%, while non-binary people reach 90% in experiencing loneliness regularly
Social Media’s Impact on Women’s Loneliness is Mixed but Significant
- Almost 40% of gen z women say social media makes them more lonely
- 21% of gen z women say it makes them less lonely
- Overall, women from ages 16-44 tend to say social media makes them more lonely, while women aged 45+ tend to say social media makes them less lonely. For example, 26% of 45-54 women said it makes them feel less lonely, and 20% of women aged 55+ agreed.
- Overall, 23% of women across all age groups said they feel more lonely after using social media
There is a Significant Gender Gap in Social Health (the area of human health related to the quality of your relationships and access to community)
- Gen z women are 3x as likely to rate their social health as “poor” than gen z men. 20% of gen z women would rate their social health as “poor”, while only 6% of gen z men would rate their social health as “poor”
- Only 47% of gen z women would rate their social health as “good” or above (giving them the lowest social health rating), while 70% gen z men rated their social health as “good” or above.
- 20% of women aged 25-34 would rate their social health as “poor”
- While 50% of women aged 25-34 would rate their social health as “good” or above. That stayed consistent across older age groups until 55+, at which point 68% of women in that age group rate their social health as “good” or above. (With men 55+ men still rating higher at 74%)
- The largest gender gap in social health was for ages 20-34, with 50% of women in that age group rating their social health as “good” or above, while 80% of men in that age group rated their social health as “good” or above.
- The small sample of men we also surveyed for this question consistently ranked their social health noticeably better than women across age groups, with men rated their social health as good or above between 70%-80%, while women as a whole rated good or above at 55%.
These numbers challenge current assumptions on social resources by gender, and the current narrative that men don’t have as much social access as women. That being said, this result isn’t surprising to me, as men have shared interest points and third spaces found in sports, gaming, and music - while not having to contend with issues like harassment and abuse in real life community or online. If you're less concerned for your safety, you have a much easier time accessing the community resources available to you. - Communia Founder & CEO Olivia DeRamus
Predatory Behavior and Unwanted Contact Online is Frequent
- 63% of women (all ages) say they experience unwanted contact or predatory behavior
- Almost 80% of gen z women say they experience unwanted contact or predatory behavior
- 30% of gen z women say they experience unwanted contact or predatory behavior regularly
- 25% of women aged 25-34 say they experience unwanted contact or predatory behavior regularly
- 20% of women ages 35-44 say they experience unwanted contact or predatory behavior regularly
Digital Abuse in Relationships
- 26% of women say they have had a partner control (or try to control) their digital interactions.
- Almost 40% of gen z women say they have had a partner control (or try to control) their digital interactions
- 33% of women ages 25-34, and 32% of women ages 35-44 say they have had a partner control (or try to control) their digital interactions.
- Native American women are 2x as likely as White women to experience this. This is consistent with Native American women experiencing higher rates of domestic abuse in general alongside other types of violence/abuse against women.
Cosmetic Surgery as a Result of Social Media
- 23% of women across age groups have considered cosmetic surgery as a result of being on social media.
- 17% of women have had a cosmetic procedure specifically as a result of being on social media.
- Almost 25% of gen z and millennial women have had a cosmetic procedure specifically as a result of being on social media
- Over 40% of gen z women have considered cosmetic surgery as a result of being on social media
- 31% of women aged 25-34 have considered cosmetic surgery as a result of being on social media
- Black, Hispanic, and Native American women were 2x as likely as White women to consider cosmetic surgery as a result of being on social media.
- Gay and bisexual women said they were 2x as likely as heterosexual women to consider cosmetic surgery as a result of being on social media
Non-Consensual Explicit Image Sharing (NCIIS), and the Use of AI Deepfakes is an Increasingly Common Experience (+ a 4x increase in gen z women since 2023)
- 25% of women across age groups have experienced non-consensual explicit image sharing, 11% of women across age groups said that they have explicitly experienced NCIIS due to the perpetrator creating an AI generated image or video of them.
- Over 40% of Gen Z women have experienced non-consensual image sharing (NCIIS) like revenge porn and deepfakes.
- Almost 20% of Gen Z women have experienced NCIIS specifically due to the perpetrator creating an AI generated image or video of them.
- 15% of women (all ages) have experienced non-consensual image sharing (NCIIS) like revenge porn and deepfakes. 7% of women (all ages) have experienced this abuse specifically from perpetrators creating AI generated images/video.
These rates have increased significantly since our last study in 2023, where only 11% of gen z women reported experiencing this, and 6% across age groups. (4x increase)
This is a survey of women who have ever used social media, however it’s reasonable to infer that this percentage applies to all women. An individual does not have to be on social media to be a victim of NCIIS. Given high rates of domestic abuse, we would estimate this to be a conservative estimate.
Generative AI Doesn’t Have Many Fans
- When asked whether, if given the opportunity, they would remove all generative AI content from their social media experience:
- Only 10% of women across age groups disagreed.
- While 55% of women across age groups agreed.
- This was generally extremely consistent across age groups, with almost 60% of gen z women saying they would remove all generative AI content from social media if they could.
Cyberflashing is Common
- 21% of women across age groups say they’ve experienced cyberflashing
- 41% of gen z women say they’ve been a victim of cyberflashing
- 26% of gen z women say they’ve been a victim of cyberflashing multiple times
- 26% of women ages 25-44 say they’ve been a victim of cyberflashing
- 15% of women ages 25-44 say they’ve been a victim of cyberflashing multiple times
- Black women are 2x as likely as White women to be subject to cyberflashing
- Hispanic, Latino women 2.5x as likely as White women to be subject to cyberflashing
Surveillance Culture is Prevalent for Women
- 27% of women across age groups have said someone has taken a photo or video of them without their consent or immediate knowledge. Almost 10% of women have had this happen and the person posted it online.
- 42% of gen z women have said someone has taken a photo or filmed them without their consent or immediate knowledge
- 12% of gen z women have said that not only has someone taken a photo or video of them, but that they also put it online
- This is even higher for women aged 25-34 at 15%.
For the full report, more information, or comment, please contact: morgan@mbpublicrelations.com
