DIGITAL BODIES AND SOCIAL PROTECTION: VISUAL CULTURE, GENDERED CYBER THREATS, AND POLICING NARRATIVES AMONG UNIVERSITY YOUTH

Eram Rizvi; Kaushik Mishra; Aparna Vajpayee; Ankit Kumar; Vishal Sharma

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i1s.2026.7191

Authors

Eram Rizvi Research Scholar, University Institute of Media Studies, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India
Dr. Kaushik Mishra Professor, University Institute of Media Studies, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India
Dr. Aparna Vajpayee Professor, School of Liberal Arts and Management, P P Savani University, Surat, Gujarat, India
Ankit Kumar Research Scholar, University Institute of Media Studies, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India
Dr. Vishal Sharma Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i1s.2026.7191

Keywords:

Gendered Cyber Threats, University Youth, Social Protection, Cyber Harassment, Visual Mediation, Policing Narratives, Digital Vulnerability, Youth Agency, Online Safety

Abstract [English]

The blistering development of digital spaces of visual media has transformed the experience and presentations of bodies, identities, and vulnerabilities on the Internet, especially through young people in universities. This paper focuses on analyzing the gendered cyber threats against women in light of visual culture and social protection, which concerns the perception and formation of policing narratives in online space. Based on the answers of Gen Z female university students, the study examines the experience of cybercrimes against women, its perception, and visualization in the social media, online platforms, and mediated discourse. The paper makes cyber harassment a part of modern visual culture in which images, acts of subjectivity and the relationship in the Internet help produce vulnerability and resistance. It also examines how the law enforcement is depicted in digital discourse, identifying the disjunction between protection mechanisms carried out by the institutions and how the youth understand safety. The integration of visual studies, gender studies, and cultural analysis perspectives will give the research a step forward to predict the nature of cybercrime visually by performatively, as well as in representational aspects. The results indicate that visual stories have a strong impact on awareness, reporting behavior, and trust in the policing structures. The present research is an addition to an emerging framework of literature on digital bodies and social protection by providing information about the utilization of visual culture with the help of preventive measures, awareness-raising activities and creative interventions to tackle gendered cyber threats in the current youth cultures.

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