About this poster

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Panel information
Panel 1. Context: Cross-Cultural, Neighborhood, and Social

Abstract

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Forty-five percent of adolescents in the United States report being online “almost constantly”, and there is approximately another 45% that report going online multiple times per day (Anderson & Jiang, 2018; Pew Research Center, 2018). As the internet and technology have become integrated into daily life, youth are constantly being exposed to and accumulating information regarding the ways that social hierarchies function to produce differential experiences for communities of color. More recently, scholars have studied and theorized the ways in which racialized experiences such as prejudice, racism and discrimination, specifically, manifest online. While evidence suggests that youth of color are experiencing and witnessing online racism (Tynes, Giang, Williams, & Thompson, 2008; Tynes, Seaton, & Zuckerman, 2015), less is known about how Black youth make sense of these encounters, the emotions that follow, and their strategies for managing these emotions. Thus, the current study uses a qualitative approach to explore how Black adolescents make sense of the negative race-related messages and content they encounter online.
Specifically, the current study aimed to address the guiding question: How do Black youth make sense of negative racial online experiences and online racial trauma to which they are exposed? Additionally, I aim to learn more about how Black youth talk about and manage their emotions when seeing racist content or videos depicting anti-black violence in online spaces. Given that racial injustice and antiblack violence is persistent, understanding how Black adolescents perceive and make sense of these modern manifestations of it is critical. Furthermore, adolescence is a period in which Black youth are exploring their own racial identities and the social positions tied to their identities (Brittian, 2012). Encountering and witnessing antiblack commentary and violence via online media, while a common experience, is deeply consequential for Black youth’s well-being.
Black youth in the study describe the content and types of videos, messages, and posts they have encountered in digital spaces. Additionally, participants describe the emotions tied to viewing racist content and the ways they manage their emotions and subsequently make choices to respond or not respond when encountering racist content online. Finally, youth highlight the role their parents play in how they think and feel about the racial justice issues to which they are being exposed.
This study offers critical insights into the perspectives and processes by which Black youth make sense of and respond to direct experiences of racism online, as well as, vicarious instances or witnessing antiblack violence through online media. Findings from the current study provide early insights into the sensemaking process for Black youth who are being inundated with denigrating messages and videos of antiblack violence, directly and vicariously. Interventions across systems i.e. school, family, community, policy are important for protecting Black youth and cultivating a sense of agency and self-efficacy in addressing racial injustice. Educators and adults that engage Black adolescents should be equipped with the skills and resources to have conversation about these topics and create safe spaces for Black youth to engage in critical dialogue around these issues and maintain optimal mental health in the face of witnessing racial violence and denigration. Implications for technology corporations and their role are also discussed.

Author information

Author	Role
Ashley Stewart, Georgia State University	Presenting author
Aireale Joi Rodgers, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States	Non-presenting author

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