Social networks offer invaluable contributions in terms of communication. They are also unfortunately quite often the receptacle of overflows of all kinds.
Hate speech is one of them and regularly targets women, ethnic minorities and the LQBTQ community. For example, we told you about it last April through the report submitted by the startup L1ght, a company that specializes in measuring toxic speech online. Analysts noted a 900% increase in hate speech directed at China and Chinese on Twitter between December and March.
Greater risks for men than for women?
American researchers have carried out a study to better understand the effects of this content on the people who are victims. They were able to clearly link exposure to ethnic discrimination to greater symptoms of depression and anxiety among young Hispanic men.
To do this, they interviewed 200 young Latinos between the ages of 18 and 25. They noted that the more they saw racist photos, videos or memes, the higher the risk of depression and anxiety.
« A viral video or meme might not always be directed at you, but when you see someone discussing your social or ethnic group publicly in a negative or derogatory manner, it can unfortunately take a negative toll on your mental health. », Explains Miguel Ángel Cano, the main author of this study.
In detail, scientists have observed that men are more affected by this phenomenon. To explain this, they believe that these posts more often portray men than women.
Some studies in the past have shown that young adults have higher symptoms of depression than adolescents and their elders. In this context, social networks seem to play an important role, especially as young Hispanics have a very high use of these modes of communication.
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