-led research company, nearly 90% of young Black people want to see and champion more joy on the internet, compared to 70% of non-Black gen Zers.
Though the roots of that statistic aren’t fully expanded upon, it’s widely thought that it’s a byproduct of both how intensely ‘online’ our generation is, as well as of our desire to engage in activism on digital platforms. In the midst of themovement, social media has become a vehicle for the dissemination of information and evidence. It’s as much a tool to highlight injustice as it is to gather together groups who want to make change.
The study found that 76% of gen Z internet users saw images of racial violence on their feeds regularly, and that seeing them affects them emotionally. 83% say it makes them feel hopeless. It angers three-quarters of them. But this statistic is applied to the entirety of gen Z regardless of race. Consider how much sorer that would sting if it was your own community that was the disproportionate target of both real and systemic violence.
The internet has become a free-for-all over the years, growing so quickly that darkness inevitably spreads throughout it too. There’s also the added pressure of news media reporting on issues that affect Black people more significantly, as is the case with the coronavirus pandemic. To log on and be faced with a constant barrage of despondent news stories is sure to have a hard effect on your mindset.
The good thing is that, even if the internet is a source of trauma, it also provides ostracised Black gen Zers with a space in which they feel less alone: 94% of those surveyed are connected to like-minded people on social media.