Screenshots to Document Online Racism

Racism evolves over time, adapting to new contexts such as online spaces, where anonymity enables widespread expression of racist views. Researchers have developed measures of online racism, but these measures can overlook the nuanced context in which online racism occurs. Research using digital qualitative methods may help uncover insights into experiences of online racism, its impacts, and strategies to mitigate its effects. This protocol describes a ‘methodological strips’ approach, integrating multiple research strategies to explore online racial discrimination. This approach pragmatically combined techniques found in rapid collective auto-ethnography, digital anthropology, and photo-voice to develop a protocol to capture the complexity of online racial discrimination. A diverse team of scholars completed the Very Brief Online Racism Measure and then submitted screenshots of online racial discrimination, accompanied by reflections on their emotional, mental, and behavioral responses. We then revisited online micro-contexts where incidents occurred. Findings suggest that a screenshotting protocol should consider the possibility that greater social media usage increases exposure to online racial discrimination, with the nature of these experiences being shaped by online behaviors (e.g., posting in comment sections). Reactions to online racial discrimination varied, including rumination, distress, desensitization, and disengagement. Micro-contexts appeared to play a role in mitigating or intensifying the impact of racist content. Exposure to online racial discrimination may depend on the historical moment and algorithms that respond to user engagement. Screenshot methods may take a psychological toll on both research participants and researchers who code the data. We present a screenshotting protocol that can be used to refine measurement tools and deepen understanding of how online racism is perceived and processed. Future research may explore the need for protective measures in the face of online racism.