Extending campus life to the Internet: Social media, discrimination, and perceptions of racial climate.

Abstract

Despite the fact that more college student interaction now takes place online, researchers have yet to examine the role the Internet plays in perceptions of campus racial climate. Using an online survey of a sample of 217 African American and European American college students, this study explored online factors including intergroup interaction as well as online and offline factors associated with campus racial climate. Hierarchical regression results revealed a final model explaining perceptions of campus racial climate that included ethnicity, individual online racial discrimination, and online stress. African Americans experienced more online racial discrimination and online stress and had a significantly more negative view of campus racial climate. Regardless of one’s ethnicity, online victimization was associated with negative perceptions of the racial climate, yet the relationship was significantly stronger for African Americans. Time on social networking sites and discussions of school-related issues were not associated with these perceptions. This study provides additional evidence that campus life is moving online, and interaction, particularly negative experiences, in these spaces warrants more attention.