iPhone App Simulates Teen Dating Abuse’s Digital Twist for Parents

Love Is Not Abuse, a campaign by Liz Claiborne Inc., launched a free iPhone application to help parents recognize the warning signs and consequences of digital dating abuse. The app is designed to encourage parents to start talking to their teens about dating abuse just as many already discuss sex, drugs and alcohol.

The Issue
Nearly 1 in 4 teens have been victimized by the use of technology from a boyfriend or girlfriend, according to a Liz Claiborne Inc. and Futures Without Violence survey.  Jane Randall, Senior VP of Corporate Communications at Liz Claiborne, said the research shows “parents are dangerously out of touch with the high levels of dating violence and abuse taking place in their children’s lives.”

Dating abuse can manifest in many forms and inflict injury, death and mental health problems including suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, disordered eating and depression on its victims.

Host of Fox’s Justice with Judge Jeanine and former district attorney Judge Jeanine Pirro reminds parents that dating abuse is real and can happen anywhere and anytime. She said old crimes are committed in new ways using technology, and the app is a powerful weapon against dating abuse.

About The App
The iPhone app simulates dating abuse using technology, including text messages, emails and phone calls from a virtual “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” trying to exert control over the user. The messages threaten to delete friends on social networks and pressure the user to send provocative pictures. Videos teach the app user about boyfriends and girlfriends invading the privacy of their partners by reading call and text message logs and using passwords to access social network accounts and pose as their partners, write cruel things, communicate with their friends and delete photos.

“By using the very same technology that threatens teens to show parents what to watch out for, we aim to put dating abuse, in all its forms, on the radar for parents,” Randel said.

The app collected resources from top experts to start the conversation about dating abuse between parents and their teens. In addition to the simulator, it provides facts, warning signs, tips on how to talk to teens about dating abuse, ways to take action and help if parents suspect their teen is suffering from dating abuse.

To download the free app, click here to open iTunes or search “LINA” in the program.

The Event
Mom Central joined families and partners of Love Is Not Abuse at the app’s release event hosted at the Lucky Brand store in Soho, New York City on August 10. Chief Creative Officer for Liz Claiborne and Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn introduced experts on teen dating abuse and Denis DeZao, a mother of a dating abuse survivor.

Denise had a close relationship with her daughter and had a motherly instinct that something was wrong; her daughter’s phone rang incessantly when she wasn’t with her boyfriend, and she became isolated from her friends. Denise said she thought her daughter’s boyfriend was protecting her while she was away at college, but he was abusing and controlling her.

Have you talked to your child about dating relationships and dating abuse lately? Share your thoughts about the app and tell us how you communicate with your teen below.

Mom Central