What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine whether frequency of exposure to online racism mediates the relationship between frequency of social media use and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Black emerging adults.

August 15, 2026PLOS Digital HealthOpen Access

Social media use, online racism, and mental health among Black Emerging Adults in the United States

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Authors

OBOreoluwa Oluwatomisin BadejohNorth Carolina State University SGShedrick L. GarrettUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MHMelissa C. HollandNorth Carolina State University

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Implication

Cross-sectional survey reveals online racism mediates the link between specific social media use and poor mental health in Black emerging adults, highlighting platform-specific risks.

Key Points

To examine whether frequency of exposure to online racism mediates the relationship between frequency of social media use and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Black emerging adults.
Surveyed a non-probability sample of N=1,005 monoracial Black emerging adults (mean age = 24.07 years, 50.6% women) in the United States.
Assessed platform-specific social media use, exposure to online racism, and symptoms of depression and anxiety using established measures via mediation analyses.
Frequent use of Twitter (standardized indirect effect [SIE] = .04, p = .027), Reddit (SIE = .10, p < .001), and TikTok (SIE = .05–.06, p = .005) was associated with higher exposure to online racism, which in turn correlated with increased odds of depression and anxiety.
Exposure to online racism did not significantly mediate the association between mental health symptoms and the use of YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram.

Cite This Study

Badejoh et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8019ce75c2e31742c85f64 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0001243

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Implication

Cross-sectional survey reveals online racism mediates the link between specific social media use and poor mental health in Black emerging adults, highlighting platform-specific risks.

Social media use, online racism, and mental health among Black Emerging Adults in the United States

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Social media use, online racism, and mental health among Black Emerging Adults in the United States

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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