Racial Discrimination Projected by the Media Industry
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Introduction
Over the years, many interactive social media platforms have been invented to facilitate communication and connection between individuals from different parts of the world. Most of these platforms are dominated by young people in society. Some of these social media platforms include but are not limited to Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp, and telegram. Like most young people worldwide, social media has become a crucial part of my life and daily routines. Not a day goes by without me accessing and using at least one social media platform. I am more drawn to the YouTube, WhatsApp, and Twitter applications. I find them fascinating, helpful, entertaining, and educative as well.
Moving forward, I see myself incorporating and exploring a wide range of social media platforms depending on how useful they will be to me, my interest, and my objectives. Social media has a lot to offer to its users, and it is practically impossible to exhaust all the contents it offers. I aim to identify the platforms that align with my identity and interests, tap the most out of it, and experience significant growth. I believe social media is key in enabling deep and meaningful connections between people in different geographical regions. By allowing individuals to share their interests, pictures, places of interest, and videos, social media align people with similar characteristics together and enable them to converse and help each other grow in their identified fields of interest.
As much as social media has brought people together and created a small world, I feel like it has drawn individuals far from their physical surroundings. Since the onset of social media platforms, most individuals have disconnected from the physical world. Convincing individuals to get off their gadgets and focus on their surroundings, family members, friends, and neighbors is quite challenging in the modern world. In addition, social media has seen many people lock themselves indoors and avoid physical contact with the outside world. For this reason, they fail to recognize and appreciate the beauty of their environment (Carlson et al., 2017). I understand that this aspect of social media has worked to the advantage of Covid-19 eradication since it allows for communication with no physical contact. However, it poses other health risks like obesity and damaged eyesight because it limits their movements and overworks individuals’ eye muscles, respectively.
My opinions regarding social media and its effects have shifted throughout the semester. Through evaluation of social media and a dive into its significance in various aspects of life, this study has enabled me to appreciate their role in our lives and the positive impacts it has had on society in general. Furthermore, I have discovered that some platforms like YouTube and Instagram have helpful programs that help individuals adopt healthy lifestyles through healthy eating habits and regular in-house exercises (Gündüz, 2017). Therefore, there is no need to worry about lifestyle diseases or long indoor period stays. I have also learned that information can be manipulated to drive a user’s narrative to portray to other users globally. Therefore, many people, things, or events propagated through social media platforms are sometimes exaggerated and unreal. This manipulation has contributed to some of the issues experienced in society. The media has contributed to the racial discrimination issue and has drawn media users’ attention for a long time now.
The links between the media and the racial discrimination
The issue of racial discrimination has been in play for over decades now. The emergence of the media has magnified the tension surrounding racial discrimination (Tynes et al., 2019). Social media has contributed to the issue both positively and negatively. However, the negative impacts of social media on racial discrimination are strongly felt in society. Racial discrimination has captured my attention because it affects many people in society directly and indirectly. We live in a mixed-race society, where people from different races meet and interact daily. Racial discrimination occurs when members of a certain race get treated differently compared to members of another race. The African American race has proven to be the most affected by racial discrimination and the media propagation of the same.
Media exposure of African American People to Discrimination Risks
The media expose African American people to the risk of getting discriminated against more. Individuals hide behind their gadgets and send discriminatory messages towards people of color in society (Carlson et al., 2017). Perpetrators of this awful act use social media platforms to convey discrimination and hatred towards people of color because they know it is difficult for the authorities to trace and punish them accordingly. Some individuals go to the extent of threatening the lives of people of color through social media platforms. This action compels other platform users who share the same ideas to make stereotypical comments about people of color publicly and shame them for their identity. Studies show that 60% of young African American youths have reported cases of racial epithets.
Monetization of the Issue by Media Houses and Platforms
some media platforms and houses use the racial discrimination narrative to promote themselves and increase their viewer ratings (Tao & Fisher, 2021). These actions are wrong and unjust to people of color. More often than not, black people fall for the traps of the media and agree to work for or with them because they believe these media houses are looking out for them. After achieving their objectives regarding the narrative, media houses and platforms tend to dispose of their African American facilitators and ignore them completely. The naivety of some African American individuals bars them from protecting themselves against such advances from social media houses and platforms.
Graphic Presentation and Display of Black Bodies by Media platforms
Most media platforms tend to be insensitive when it comes to the content they display on their pages. They expose the public to graphic content that is likely to cause trauma. The realization that these media houses actually target black people when posting such graphic content is devastating. I can’t help but wonder why people behind the media platforms would subject individuals as human as them to such mental torture. They are inconsiderate of how black people feel when they see the bodies of their own mutilated or videos of other black people being tortured or handled brutally (SIMMONS & LECOUTEUR, 2018). Such disturbing images are likely to shake a black person or have long-term effects on their mental health.
Impacts of Racial Discrimination Propagated by social media on the People of Color
Online racial discrimination leaves many black people feeling insecure and unsafe in their various locations. The constant death threat and bullying because of color cause black people to question their safety and their loved ones’ (Matamoros-Fernández & Farkas, 2021). Furthermore, it also makes them lose their sense of belonging in society. Discriminatory acts and comments displayed on social media platforms leave many black people feeling demoralized and inferior in the community. This feeling translates to a lost sense of belonging. Consequently, such individuals, especially young people, fall into depression and engage in drug and substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
Long-term Effect of Online Racial Discrimination
Discrimination against black people affects their performance, efforts, and contributions to the development of society. The loss of self-esteem and a sense of belonging bars them from participating in societal development projects. As a result, areas dominated by black people stagnate development-wise and deteriorate over time. Furthermore, racial discrimination is likely to affect the economy of a given country. Discrimination against black people means denying them opportunities in the market. Therefore, they cannot contribute to the economy through their wages (Chan, 2017). Consequently, the economy underperforms and lags compared to other economies that offer all genders equal opportunity in the job market.
Measures to adapt to Combat the Online Discrimination Issue
Media platforms need to develop ways of tracking individuals who propagate racial discrimination in society through their pages. When caught, such individuals should be punished according to the law. In addition, the government should also jump on board and establish policies under which media platforms must comply. These policies should incorporate and prioritize the rights of black people using various media platforms. Media houses or platforms that fail to adhere to regulations imposed by the government should be penalized, suspended, or shut down depending on the level of their offense and negligence. Media platforms should also create segments specifically for people of color to express themselves freely with no fear of discrimination.
These actions by the government and the media houses will motivate the black community to come out of their hiding and feel safe to interact with people freely through different platforms. It also restores a sense of belonging to them because they feel cared for and loved. Protecting against discrimination gives black people power and the desire to explore their creative side, discover their potential and work towards achieving their goals. The general society could benefit from media literacy because people will know the various platforms, their importance, and the need to treat other users with the utmost respect. For this reason, most media platforms will achieve a race-neutral platform that allows individuals to be themselves and be free to communicate their minds.
References
Carlson, B. L., Jones, L. V., Harris, M., Quezada, N., & Frazer, R. (2017). Trauma shared recognition and indigenous resistance on social media. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 21.
Chan, J. (2017). Racial identity in online spaces: Social media’s impact on students of color. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 54(2), 163-174.
Gündüz, U. (2017). The effect of social media on identity construction. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(5), 85-85.
Matamoros-Fernández, A., & Farkas, J. (2021). Racism, Hate Speech, and social media: A Systematic Review and Critique. Television & New Media, 22(2), 205–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476420982230SIMMONS, K., & LECOUTEUR, A. (2018). Modern racism in the media: constructions of “the possibility of change” in accounts of two Australian “riots.” Discourse & Society, 19(5), 667–687. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42889222Tao, X., & Fisher, C. B. (2021). Exposure to social media racial discrimination and mental health among adolescents of color. Journal of youth and adolescence, 1-15.
Tynes, B. M., Willis, H. A., Stewart, A. M., & Hamilton, M. W. (2019). Race-related traumatic events online and mental health among adolescents of color. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(3), 371-377.
