Discrimination and Black Social Media Use: Sites of Oppression and Expression

Abstract

The authors investigate the association between self-reported experiences of discrimination and social media use among Black American adults. Experiences of discrimination were assessed using a 10-question scale of self-reported discrimination encounters. Data analysis was based on a sample of 220 Black American adult respondents residing in Texas. The results indicate that Black Americans reporting higher levels of discrimination use social media more frequently than those who report lower levels of discrimination. In addition, Black Americans who experience higher levels of discrimination are more likely to have accounts on Twitter or Facebook than those who experience lower levels of discrimination. Together, these findings suggest that social media sites such as Twitter serve as sites of expression for people of color to air their grievances, find community, and cope with online and offline forms of racism and discrimination.

Black Memes Matter: #LivingWhileBlack With Becky and Karen

“…Twitter also affords a network of action when meme production is considered as social action (Chen, 2012; Milner, 2013b). Many scholars have similarly observed Black digital collectives exercising agency through Twitter (see Brock, 2012; Dickerson, 2016; Miller et al, 2020; Williams & Gonlin, 2017). Twitter allows multiple actors to offer commentary on the same types of racist, White supremacist behavior; forming a social collective that draws attention to the threat of imminent violence , helping to subvert the White disciplinary gaze in the process.…”

Examining the Direction of Effects Between COVID-19 Experiences, General Well-Being, Social Media Engagement, and Insomnia Symptoms Among University Students

“…Some online platforms also provide opportunities to participate in specific causes that might facilitate a sense of belonging among individuals who might otherwise feel disconnected from their physical social networks. For example, the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020 provided opportunities for Black and minority youth to congregate in online spaces to seek emotional support resources (Miller et al, 2020). Furthermore, Asians and Asian-Americans-who have been the target of racial discrimination during the pandemic-have actively engaged with social media to cope with COVID-19-related racism (Yang et al, 2020).…”

The Cost of Being Christian: The Association between Christian Affiliation and Discrimination Experiences among Asians in the United States

“…The enhanced awareness explanation posits that when immigrants’ awareness of existing inequalities is enhanced, they are more sensitive to unequal treatment and the negative climate they are confronted with (van Doorn, Scheepers, and Dagevos 2013). Awareness of discrimination can be enhanced through multiple ways, including education (Wodtke 2012), media (Miller et al 2020), and story‐sharing from friends and other social relations (Steinmann 2019). Better integration also means better knowledge of the social climate, which further results in more discrimination perceptions.…”