Exposure to Racism on Social Media and Acute Suicide Risk in Adolescents of Color: Results From an Intensive Monitoring Study

Abstract

Youth of color are often exposed to racism at both systemic and individual levels. Interpersonal racial/ethnic discrimination is the behavioral manifestation of individual racism.^1,2 While direct individual experiences of racism (eg, comments directed at the individual) have deleterious effects for the socioemotional well-being of youth of color,³ research also points to the negative effects of broader exposure to racism (eg, viewing racist comments, images, or videos online^1,2) that is not experienced directly. Now that social media (SM) has become a prominent and ubiquitous source of social interactions for adolescents, research on the influence of racism on youth must contend with this new medium. This is especially the case for youth of color, particularly Black and Hispanic/Latine youth, who report more SM use than White youth who do not identify as Hispanic/Latine.⁴ The unique features of SM, including its permanence, publicness, and personalized algorithms, may increase both direct and indirect experiences of online racism for youth of color, particularly due to its constant availability and highly visual nature, which likely expose and re-expose youth of color to a variety of online racist experiences. Approximately 20% of all Black adolescents sampled in a large national survey reported that they were the target of online bullying or harassment because of their racial or ethnic identity.⁴ Indeed, exposure to direct and indirect online racism is associated with negative mental health outcomes for youth of color,^5,6 including posttraumatic symptoms, depression, and anxiety.