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For a long time, beauty filters have been criticized for promoting Eurocentric standards, such as lighter skin tones, slimmer noses, and even changes in eye color. However, a recent study reveals that the influence of these filters extends well beyond mere physical appearance. Researchers have found that these filters, when combined with ongoing exposure to racial discrimination online, could be negatively affecting the mental well-being of Black teenagers.
A publication in JAMA Network highlights that Black adolescents who experience race-related incidents online—ranging from discriminatory remarks to distressing videos showing police violence—are likely to exhibit increased levels of anxiety and depression the following day. Although there is positive cultural content available online, researchers emphasize that negative interactions often overshadow the positive ones.
The study reveals that, on average, Black teenagers encountered six race-related interactions daily, which included 3.2 instances of online racial discrimination and 2.8 positive interactions.
This research was spearheaded by Brendesha Tynes, a professor at the University of Southern California, in collaboration with Devin English from Rutgers University and Taylor McGee from Christopher Newport University. Their study examined survey data from 141 Black adolescents, aged 11 to 19, across various locations in the U.S. The data was gathered over a week in December 2020.
With the increase of hate speech on the internet and a growing resistance to diversity efforts across the country, Tynes asserts that their research is more critical now than ever before.
“We need studies that are documenting what’s happening,” she explained in a recent interview with The Guardian. “And also we need platforms to help people to manage those experiences, to critique them.”
One finding that surprised even the researchers: algorithmic bias, including filters that lighten skin or Europeanize facial features, was strongly linked to next-day anxiety symptoms. Survey questions asked teens whether filters had straightened their hair, lightened their complexion, or made them appear “more European.” Others measured whether racial justice content failed to get traction due to platform suppression. Respondents reported encountering algorithmic bias about once every three days.
“We expected each of the three types of online racism to be associated with the next day’s depressive and anxiety symptoms,” Tynes said. “But I was still surprised that the algorithmic bias items were associated with mental health. It was the first time we were actually measuring it and although we expected it I was surprised that we actually found what we expected.”
Researchers found that Black adolescents exposed to online racism were more likely to report:
- Trouble falling asleep
- Difficulty concentrating at school
- Heightened anxiety
- Depressive symptoms
Some of the most concerning reactions came from interactions with biased algorithms, an area with almost no federal oversight despite its growing influence.
“Given what we found in this study, it’s very, very concerning,” said English. “Companies will not regulate themselves on this and that’s the role of the government to step in. We haven’t seen any federal level legislation to protect young people from the harms of social media and the harms of AI.”
Tynes points out that algorithmic bias doesn’t just impact mental health, it can have life-and-death consequences. Before white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine Black churchgoers in Charleston in 2015, he Googled “Black on white crime.” Search results funneled him to extremist websites that fueled his beliefs.
“Instead of him getting, at the time, the justice department’s actual facts on crime and who’s committing it,” said Tynes, “he got these biased white supremacist results, and then that fueled his desire to commit a massacre.” Tynes and fellow researchers at USC and the University of Maryland are developing a digital platform, expected to launch next spring, that will offer:
- Virtual reality modules
- Digital literacy tools
- Mental health support
- Education on how racism infiltrates online spaces
- Strategies to “critique, counter and cope” with harmful content
She believes that helping youth understand the history and mechanics of online racism can lessen its emotional impact.
The research team also plans to study teens’ experiences over longer periods and explore how positive cultural messages, resilience, and Black history education help adolescents navigate these digital environments. Ultimately, Tynes hopes states will take the lead in protecting young people of color where federal oversight falls short. She wants students equipped with the knowledge and confidence to “… help people protect themselves, critique the messages, and place them in historical context so that they don’t have the impact that they have.”