Minorities and Risk-Related Content on Social Media
A new paper published in the Journal of Urban Health by Robin Stevens, director of the Health Equity & Media Lab and assistant professor of nursing in the School of Nursing at Penn, with Amy Bleakley, senior research scientist at the Annenberg School for Communication, Michael Hennessy, senior research analyst in health and political communication at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and Jamie Dunaev and the late Stacia Gilliard-Matthews from Rutgers University-Camden, offers some insight on the connection between the negative interactions disadvantaged youth experience in their real communities and their digital ones (what Dr. Stevens calls the “digital hood”). Their survey of 145 black and Hispanic youth showed that as many as 84 percent report exposure to risk-related content on social media, yet fewer than 1/5 actually post such material.
The researchers focused on two behaviors with well-established links between exposure and an increased likelihood of engagement: substance use and unprotected sex. They also examined exposure to violence. Their aim was to understand which platforms urban minorities use and how often, as well as what type of risk-related content they see online and how they engage with it.
Participants completed a survey in which they answered “yes” or “no” to prompts about subjects like nudity or sexually suggestive posts and fight videos on Facebook and Instagram. The researchers concluded that although a majority of these teens view risk-related behaviors on social media, a small percentage actually participate in and post about them online.
By far, they’re exposed most to violent imagery, Dr. Stevens added. “It’s not like TV violence; it’s violence against people I know, or including people I know, or people I don’t know but who may go to high school with my friend’s cousin.”
Dr. Stevens said she wants to work toward challenging the myths about what these groups believe is normal. She also hopes to improve the social media feedback loop. “Most of the critiques of these platform are around bullying and fake news and propaganda,” she said. “There’s little conversation about how this might harm children in vulnerable populations. Generally, the experiences of black and Hispanic youth online are not part of this conversation, so how are we going to empower these youth to navigate the risks they face in their digital neighborhoods?”