Youth Exposure to Hate in the Online Space: An Exploratory Analysis

Harriman, Nigel Walsh; Shortland, Neil; Su, Maxwell; Cote, Tyler; Testa, Marcia A.; Savoia, Elena

doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0342.v1

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…; Wachs et al, 2020). Despite the increasing scientific attention to online hate speech (e.g., Döring & Mohseni, 2020; Harriman et al, 2020; Wachs et al, 2021), the current literature on offline hate speech among young people in schools is rather limited. Consequently, not much is known about determinants of adolescents’ hate speech perpetration in schools and theoretical frameworks that help to explain why adolescents engage in it.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Playing by the Rules? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Norms and Adolescents’ Hate Speech Perpetration in Schools

Wachs

Wettstein

Bilz

et al. 2021

J Interpers Violence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hate speech is often discussed and investigated as an online phenomenon, while hate speech among adolescents in the real world (e.g., in schools) has rarely been researched. Consequently, not much is known about potential interpersonal correlates and theoretical frameworks that might help us better understand why adolescents engage in hate speech in offline environments. To add to the literature, this study investigates hate speech perpetration among young people by utilizing the Social Cognitive Theory; more specifically, the association between witnessing and perpetrating hate speech in schools, and whether this relation is weakened or strengthened by anti-hate speech injunctive norms and deviant peer pressure. The sample consists of 1719 young people (45.1% boys, 53.6% girls, 1.3% gender diverse) between 11 and 18 years old ( Mage = 13.96; SD = .98) from 22 schools in Switzerland. Self-report questionnaires were administered to measure hate speech involvement and adolescents’ perception of social norms (i.e., anti-hate speech injunctive norms and deviant peer pressure). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that witnessing and perpetrating hate speech were positively associated. Moreover, injunctive anti-hate speech norms were negatively related and deviant peer pressure positively related to hate speech perpetration. Finally, increasing levels of injunctive anti-hate speech norms weakened the relation between witnessing and perpetrating hate speech, whereas higher levels of deviant peer pressure strengthened this association. The findings demonstrate that the Social Cognitive Theory is a useful framework for understanding hate speech perpetration in schools. The results also highlight the importance of taking into account social norms and interpersonal relationships (e.g., within the class) when designing anti-hate speech prevention programs and not focusing solely on intrapersonal factors.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Playing by the Rules? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Norms and Adolescents’ Hate Speech Perpetration in Schools

Wachs

Wettstein

Bilz

et al. 2021

J Interpers Violence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, Reichelmann et al (2021) found that 70.7% of the 18-25-year-old respondents witnessed online hate speech in the preceding 3 months. In another study, Harriman et al (2020) found that 57% of 14-20 years-old participants reported that they had observed hate messages on social media or a website in the preceding 2 months. Regarding the European context, some studies have observed different prevalence rates of hate speech among youth and adolescents.…”

Section: Prevalence Of Hate Speechmentioning

confidence: 98%

Hate speech in adolescents: A binational study on prevalence and demographic differences

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hate speech, or intentional derogatory expressions about people based on assigned group characteristics, has been studied primarily in online contexts. Less is known about the occurrence of this phenomenon in schools. As it has negative consequences for victims, perpetrators, and those who witness it, it is crucial to characterize the occurrence of offline (i.e., in the school) and online hate speech to describe similarities and differences between these two socialization contexts. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hate speech witnessing, victimization, and perpetration, in a sample of 3,620 7–9th graders (51% self-identified as female) from 42 schools in Germany and Switzerland. We found that 67% of the students witnessed hate speech in their school, and 65% witnessed online hate speech at least once in the past 12 months. Approximately 21% of the students self-identified as offline perpetrators and 33% as offline victims, whereas these percentages were lower for online hate speech (13 and 20%, respectively). In both settings, skin color and origin were the most common group references for hate speech (50% offline and 63% online). Offline hate speech mainly came from classmates (88%), unknown sources (e.g., graffiti; 19%), or teachers (12%), whereas online hate speech mostly came from unknown persons (77%). The most frequent forms of offline hate speech were offensive jokes (94%) and the spread of lies and rumors about the members of a specific social group (84%). Significant differences by country, gender, and migration background were observed. Girls reported more offline victimization experiences, less perpetration, and a greater frequency of witnessing hate speech. This difference was larger in magnitude in the online setting. Students in Switzerland reported being exposed to hate speech more often than students in Germany. Students with a migration background reported higher hate speech victimization based on skin color and origin than students without a migration background. The high prevalence of hate speech highlights the need for school-based prevention programs. Our findings are discussed in terms of the practical implications.

show abstract

“…This phenomenon favors the use of hate speech, characterized by the demonstration of power or expression of frustration in the face of defeat. It is a behavior that is sometimes harmful to the physical and psychological well-being, as well as the self-esteem of aggressors and victims (Breuer 2017;Harriman et al 2020;Arbeau et al 2020).…”

Section: Hate Speech In Digital Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Enredo Game-Installation: A Proposal to Counter Hate Speech Online

Costa¹,

Tavares²,

Bidarra³

et al. 2022

Springer Series in Design and Innovation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article we encourage conflict sensitive attitudes and multicultural awareness based on the potential for creative responses. Through digital media art and serious games strategies we seek to create safe areas for dialogue, debate, and awareness of hate speech. These solutions will be even more effective if they are based on the understanding of how different forms of expression emerge, interact, and potentially dissipate in the virtual environment.Grounded on the possibilities of digital media art, through a practice-based research methodology, we explore the process of creating a gamified counternarrative, designed with the objective of responding to hate speech, and, at the same time, capable of providing an experience of aesthetic enjoyment.Foreseeing the establishment of a collaborative network with the educational community and the non-specialized public (parents, youth, associations, educators), this project is also based on the key concepts of media and information literacy, which are important not only to understand and analyze the phenomenon of online hate speech, but also to develop strategies and tools that allow the containment of this type of speech.

show abstract

Youth Exposure to Hate in the Online Space: An Exploratory Analysis

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Playing by the Rules? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Norms and Adolescents’ Hate Speech Perpetration in Schools

Playing by the Rules? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Norms and Adolescents’ Hate Speech Perpetration in Schools

Hate speech in adolescents: A binational study on prevalence and demographic differences

The Enredo Game-Installation: A Proposal to Counter Hate Speech Online

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About