THE INFLUENCE OF EXPOSURE INTENSITY TO @THEINDAHGSHOW CONTENT ON VICTIM-BLAMING ATTITUDES: THE MEDIATING ROLES OF EMPATHY AND THE INTERNALIZATION OF RAPE MYTHS

Rifa Ralinda Azhara (Telkom University)
Sri Wahyuning Astuti (Telkom University)

Multidiciplinary Output Research for Actual and International Issue (Morfai Journal)
Vol. 6 No. 6 (2026): Multidiciplinary Output Research For Actual and International Issue

Social media, particularly TikTok, has become a primary platform for young women to access narratives surrounding sexual violence. One account that consistently addresses this issue is **@theindahgshow**, which regularly provides educational content from a survivor-centered perspective. However, the influence of exposure to such content on victim-blaming attitudes is not direct; rather, it is mediated by psychological factors such as empathy and the internalization of rape myths. This study aims to examine the effect of the intensity of exposure to TikTok content from **@theindahgshow** on victim-blaming attitudes, with empathy and the internalization of rape myths serving as mediating variables. This study employed a quantitative approach using a survey method involving 400 female active TikTok users. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using path analysis. The findings indicate that the intensity of content exposure has a significant negative effect on victim-blaming attitudes (β = −0.425; *p* < 0.001). Furthermore, content exposure has a significant positive effect on empathy (β = 0.453; *p* < 0.001) and a significant negative effect on the internalization of rape myths (β = −0.689; *p* < 0.001). Empathy was found to have a significant negative effect on victim-blaming attitudes (β = −0.294; *p* < 0.001), whereas the internalization of rape myths had a significant positive effect (β = 0.297; *p* < 0.001). The indirect effect analysis revealed that empathy and the internalization of rape myths function as partial mediators in the relationship between the intensity of content exposure and victim-blaming attitudes. These findings suggest that the educational content shared on the TikTok account **@theindahgshow** can reduce victim-blaming attitudes both directly and indirectly by increasing empathy and decreasing the internalization of rape myths. This study contributes to a better understanding of the role of social media in shaping social attitudes toward sexual violence issues in Indonesia.