Dr. Brendescha Tynes and her colleagues found that 29 percent of African-American, 20 percent of white, and 42 percent of multiracial/other adolescents experienced discrimination directed at them online, an experience that caused anxiety and depression in many cases.
Dr. Tynes also found that hate groups are devising websites that contain false information about historical figures such as Martin Luther King and Barack Obama or events like the Holocaust. These sites, she said, are designed to mislead students who are doing research for school papers.
Although Dr. Tynes frames the issue as a public health concern, she does not believe that parents or government should restrict young people's access to the Internet.
This study appeared in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Labels: internet, depression, racism
Posted By: Aspen Education Group