Students’ Exposure and Response to Hate Speech on Social Media (Poster 3)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 1:30 p.m.
  In Poster Session: Examining Adolescents' Experiences With Social Media and Gaming

Abstract

This study examines students’ reported use of social media, exposure to hate speech, and reactions to hate speech. The participants are students in grades 5-12 at 90 schools in 10 states. Nearly all students (94.9%) reported daily use of social media; 81.8% of students reported exposure to hate speech. About one-third of students (30.5%) report that they scroll past hate speech, without an emotional response. Through multi-level logistic regression analyses, we found that the odds of reporting exposure to hate speech and of reporting no emotional response to hate speech are each significantly associated with student grade, race/ethnicity, time spent on social media, and school sector. These findings are being used to guide school-based programs to promote social media safety.

Authors

• Christine Ong, University of California - Los Angeles

• Zhaopeng Ding, University of California - Los Angeles

• Seul Lee, University of California - Los Angeles

• Mark Hansen, University of California - Los Angeles

• Sarah Krongard, Organization for Social Media Safety