Practicum-Danielle #4

African American Teens-Discrimination Online

We are all familiar with discrimination. But many people, including myself, thought that as a young, progressive generation, discrimination was decreasing. WRONG.

Many people are familiar with the term cyber-bullying. It has gotten a lot of attention recently, especially in the media due to celebrities like Perez Hilton and Ellen DeGeneres that have made a compact against online bullying. The media has shown us stories of young teens and college students committing suicide because they were being terrorized online.

Unfortunately, racial discrimination and bullying due to ethnicity occurs in schools every day. I wanted to find out if African American kids and teens were facing discrimination online…

New studies have found that African American students are more likely to feel discriminated against online. The study also pointed out that black students spend more time online, viewing more diverse content, than their white peers. “Black students reported higher rates of onli

ne victimization and more negative racial climate on their campuses” (Budapest). Many people believed that with the rise of the Internet, racism would decrease due to the anonymity online. Unfortunately, a study done by a professor at the University of Illinois says otherwise. “Adolescents are increasingly experiencing both individual and vicarious discrimination online”(Online). That same article goes on to explain the effects online racism ahs on adolescents. Just as I mentioned how cyber bullying had received a lot of attention lately, online racism and discrimination has not received that kind of attention-and it should. Racism online, which includes seeing a negative picture on Facebook “in turn triggers stress, depression and anxiety” in adolescents” (Online).

Another Professor at UofI wanted to determine the effects of offline racism versus online racism. Professor Tynes’s “research indicated that, regardless of a victim’s racial background, increased exposure to online racial discrimination was significantly related to increased depression” (Online). Most of the racism online was experienced through social networking sites in which people interacted with one another (i.e. AIM, discussion blogs, games online, text messaging).

Sadly, there are even some racist sites that try to attract kids with games or cartoons and then presents racist pictures or hate speech.” It’s masked racism that uses a bait-and-switch to entice unsuspecting kids” (Online). Something that really struck me was a CNN report that accounted African American households at the same income level as white households were still less likely to have Internet access. It makes me wonder if that attributes to the racist behavior expressed online.

All of this information left me wondering one question: Is there a way to regulate racism online? Are all of these awful writings and pictures protected under the 1^st amendment of the Constitution. It just seems too accessible to children, incredibly harmful, and quite honestly indigestible.

Works Cited

"African American Policy Forum » Blog Archive » Racial Discrimination Exists; Even Online!" African American Policy Forum. 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2011. discrimination-exists- even-online/>.

Budapest, Paul Hockenos. "Black Students More Prone To Online Victimization, Discrimination: Study."Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 3 May 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.

"Online Racial Discrimination Linked To Depression, Anxiety In Teens." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. 11 Jan. 2009. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.