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During the COVID-19 pandemic, increased social media usage has led to worsened mental health outcomes for many people. Moreover, due to the sociopolitical climate during the pandemic, the prevalence of online racial discrimination has contributed to worsening psychological well-being. With increases in anti-Asian hate, Asian and Asian American social media users may experience the negative effects of online racial discrimination in addition to the reduced psychological well-being resulting from exposure to online COVID-19 content.
This study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19–related social media use and exposure to online racial discrimination during the pandemic on the mental health outcomes (ie, anxiety, depression, and secondary traumatic stress [STS]) of Asian Americans compared with those of non-Asian Americans. In addition, this study explores the mediating role of negative affect and the moderating role of racial/ethnic identification.
An online survey was conducted through Amazon Mechanical Turk and a university-wide research portal from March 3 to March 15, 2021. A total of 1147 participants took the survey. Participants’ social media usage related to COVID-19 and exposure to 2 online forms of racial discrimination (individual and vicarious), mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and STS), racial/ethnic identification, negative affect, and demographics were assessed.
Our results showed that COVID-19–related social media use, individual discrimination, and vicarious discrimination were predictors of negative mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and STS). Asian Americans reported higher vicarious discrimination than Latinx and White Americans, but Asian Americans’ mental health outcomes did not differ substantially from those of the other racial/ethnic groups. Racial/ethnic identification moderated the relationship between both types of discrimination and STS, and negative affect served as a mediator between both types of discrimination and all 3 mental health outcomes.
These results suggest that social media exposure continues to have a dire effect on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study helps to contextualize the rise of anti-Asian American hate and its impact on mental health outcomes in the United States.
Because of a surge in social media usage by millions of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has played an important role in the communication of disaster and health crisis–related news [
This study, therefore, aims to fill this gap. More specifically, we investigate the impact of social media usage related to COVID-19 content and social media exposure to racial discrimination on the mental health outcomes of Asian Americans (defined in this paper as anyone of Asian ethnicity living in the United States regardless of nationality) and various other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. We also examine the mediating role of negative affect and the moderating role of racial/ethnic identification in these processes.
Social media refers to a group of internet-based applications that allow for the creation and exchange of user-generated content and enable users to participate in online social networking [
In this study, social media use related to COVID-19 refers to any form of social media use related to COVID-19 or the COVID-19 pandemic (eg, changes to public safety measures or a Facebook friend sharing their experience with COVID-19) that appears online, including on social media platforms. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media usage related to COVID-19 has been shown to be associated with poorer psychological outcomes [
Exposure to online racial discrimination is an added stressor for racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic [
Studies have shown that various racial groups have experienced discrimination online due to their race or ethnicity [
Regardless of their pan-ethnic Asian identities (eg, South Asian, Filipino, Japanese, and Hmong), Asians have been targets of derogatory language and attacks on public social media platforms since the beginning of the pandemic [
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, much research has examined the impact of racial discrimination on the mental health of ethnic minorities [
To understand the mechanisms underlying the impact of online racial discrimination on individuals’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, we draw upon the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) [
In this study, we define racial/ethnic identification as an amalgamation of racial and ethnic identities. Racial identification refers to the “multidimensional construct that includes the strength of one’s identification with one’s racial group, a sense of attachment to other group members, an evaluation of group membership” (eg, how much the individual likes or dislikes being White, for example) and “may include group-relevant attitudes and behaviors” [
Findings from past research vary in terms of whether racial/ethnic identification should be considered as a buffer [
Negative affect has been shown to be significantly associated with racial discrimination [
The study was conducted through a university research participation portal as well as Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) from March 3 to 15, 2021. Only individuals who were 18 years or older and were residing in the United States at the time of recruitment were qualified to participate in the study. Qualified participants recruited from the university research participation portal received course credit. Participants recruited from Amazon MTurk received a monetary compensation of US $0.50.
The 10‐item Negative Affect Scale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule was used to measure participants’ negative affect over the previous month [
An adapted version of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale was used to measure participants’ anxiety during the previous month [
The 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression module [
An adapted version of the 17-item Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale was used to measure participants’ STS during the previous month [
Social media usage was measured with 6 items adapted from the social media scale developed by Yang et al [
Participants’ experience of online racial discrimination during the pandemic was measured utilizing items adapted from the Online Victimization Scale [
Racial/ethnic identification was measured with an adapted version of the Asian American Identity Scale [
Several variables were also measured as covariates in this study. Specifically, mental health history was assessed by asking whether participants had a history of mental disorders prior to COVID-19. Participants responded either “Yes,” “No,” or “Prefer not to say.” Demographic characteristics including age, gender, level of education, and ethnicity were also assessed. Zhao and Zhou’s [
This study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of California, Davis (approval number: 1701406-1). All ethical procedures were maintained and followed, including the process of preserving web-based data privacy and security for data under the institutional review board protocol. This study abided by all applicable laws, regulations, and standard operations governing the protection of human subjects, student information, and protected health information. Participation in this study was completely voluntary. Written consent to collect data was obtained from all participants electronically and ensured that their identity would remain anonymous.
A total of 1147 participants were included in the analysis after removing 35 incomplete responses, those who spent greater than 2 hours (n=11) or less than 5 minutes (n=297) on the survey, and those who incorrectly answered at least 1 of 4 attention checks (n=216). Of the total participants (n=1147), 676 (58.94%) were recruited through MTurk and 471 (41.06%) were undergraduates recruited from the researchers’ institution. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 80 years (mean 32, SD 14 years), and most were female (701/1147, 61.12%), with 423 (36.88%) identifying as male and 15 (1.31%) identifying as nonbinary. A total of 549 (47.86%) participants reported their race as White, 306 (26.68%) as Asian/Pacific Islander or mixed Asian, 133 (11.60%) as Latinx, 109 (9.50%) as Black, 11 (0.96%) as Indigenous, and 33 (2.88%) as mixed (not Asian). Asian American and Pacific Islander participants were combined for analysis because these groups have historically been studied in tandem [
Participant demographics (N=1147).
Demographics | Values | |||||
Age (years), mean (SD) | 32 (14.4) | |||||
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Male | 423 (36.88) | ||||
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Female | 701 (61.12) | ||||
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Nonbinary | 15 (1.31) | ||||
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Prefer not to say | 4 (0.35) | ||||
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Other | 4 (0.35) | ||||
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Black | 109 (9.50) | ||||
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Latinx | 133 (11.60) | ||||
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Indigenous | 11 (0.96) | ||||
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AAPIa | 306 (26.68) | ||||
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White | 549 (47.86) | ||||
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Mixed | 33 (2.88) | ||||
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Chinese | 117 (10.20) | ||||
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Japanese | 10 (0.87) | ||||
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Korean | 25 (2.18) | ||||
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Filipino | 27 (2.35) | ||||
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Vietnamese | 20 (1.74) | ||||
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Indian | 42 (3.66) | ||||
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Pakistani | 14 (1.22) | ||||
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Bangladeshi | 3 (0.26) | ||||
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Sri Lankan | 2 (0.17) | ||||
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Hmong | 3 (0.26) | ||||
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Not shown | 22 (1.92) | ||||
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Mixed | 15 (1.31) | ||||
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Less than high school | 5 (0.44) | |||
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High school | 48 (4.18) | |||
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Some college | 91 (7.93) | |||
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Associates | 74 (6.45) | |||
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Bachelors | 304 (26.50) | |||
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Masters | 137 (11.94) | |||
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Doctoral | 12 (1.05) | |||
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Professional | 5 (0.44) | |||
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Self-employed | 91 (7.93) | |||
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Full-time | 396 (34.52) | |||
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Part-time | 76 (6.63) | |||
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Out of work | 32 (2.79) | |||
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Not able to work | 14 (1.22) | |||
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Retired | 36 (3.14) | |||
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Other | 31 (2.70) | |||
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<10,000 | 27 (2.35) | |||
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10,000-20,000 | 52 (4.53) | |||
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20,001-40,000 | 137 (11.94) | |||
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40,001-60,000 | 146 (12.73) | |||
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60,001-80,000 | 122 (10.64) | |||
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80,001-100,000 | 70 (6.10) | |||
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100,001-120,000 | 55 (4.80) | |||
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>120,000 | 67 (5.84) | |||
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1 | 155 (13.51) | |||
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2 | 103 (8.98) | |||
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3 | 119 (10.37) | |||
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4 | 80 (6.97) | |||
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5 | 14 (1.22) | |||
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Social science | 246 (21.45) | |||
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Humanities | 21 (1.83) | |||
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Math/engineering | 22 (1.92) | |||
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Biological science | 125 (10.90) | |||
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Physical science | 7 (0.61) | |||
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Undeclared | 18 (1.57) | |||
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Professional school | 1 (0.09) |
aAAPI: Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Mixed Race Asian identities (see
bA total of 300 participants noted their Asian ethnicity.
Multiple hierarchical regression models were run utilizing SPSS version 27 (IBM Corp) to assess social media usage and individual and vicarious discrimination as predictors of mental health outcomes. Step 1 included the covariates of mental health history, the experience of COVID-19 stressors, age, gender, race, education, and income. The independent variables of interest (COVID-19–related social media use, individual online discrimination, and vicarious online discrimination) were added in step 2. Full results from the hierarchical regressions are presented in
To test whether Asian participants differed from other racial/ethnic groups in reports of individual and vicarious online perceived discrimination and negative mental health outcomes, a 1-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test were utilized. Black, Latinx, White, and AAPI groups were compared in the analysis. Because of the small sample size, Indigenous (n=11) and mixed (n=33) racial/ethnic groups were not included. There was a statistical difference between racial/ethnic groups for individual (
There was a statistical difference between racial/ethnic groups for depression (
Considering that Chinese participants made up the largest ethnic subgroup in the sample of Asian participants, an unpaired independent sample
To address the moderating role of racial/ethnic identification in the relationship between individual and vicarious online racial discrimination and the 3 mental health outcomes, the interaction between individual and vicarious online racial discrimination and racial/ethnical identification was tested utilizing model 1 of the PROCESS macro for SPSS by Hayes [
Lastly, the role of negative affect as a mediator in the relationship between individual and vicarious discrimination and the 3 mental health outcomes was assessed using model 4 of the PROCESS macro. Negative affect mediated the effects of individual discrimination on STS (indirect effect [IE] 0.3375, 95% CI 0.27-0.42) and depression (IE 0.3332, 95% CI 0.26-0.41), and fully mediated the effects of individual discrimination on anxiety (IE 0.3974, 95% CI 0.31-0.49). Negative affect also mediated the effects of vicarious discrimination on STS (IE 0.2379, 95% CI 0.18-0.31) and depression (IE 0.2369, 95% CI 0.18-0.30) and fully mediated the effects of individual discrimination on anxiety (IE 0.2711, 95% CI 0.21-0.35).
The main goal of this study was to examine the impact of social media use and racial discrimination on individuals’ mental health (ie, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and STS) among different ethnic and racial groups in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we investigated the moderating effects of racial/ethnic identification and the mediating role of negative affect in those relationships.
The findings of our study support several general conclusions. First, as expected, we found that increased use of social media during the public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on users’ mental health. This finding resonates with those from similar studies that have examined social media usage and its impact on people’s mental health during the pandemic in other countries such as China [
This finding holds important pragmatic implications. Although media can provide social connectivity and public health updates, it can also contribute to the negative mental well-being of users. Social media has fueled the rapid spread of misinformation (eg, false news and racial discrimination) during this pandemic [
The connection between social media usage related to the COVID-19 pandemic and negative mental health outcomes shows the importance not only of further research into the topic, but also the need for actions such as policy change and educational campaigns [
Consistent with our predictions, individual and vicarious forms of online discrimination experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic were found to be positively associated with STS, depression, and anxiety. Our data also revealed several interesting findings regarding different ethnic groups’ experiences during the pandemic. On the one hand, Asian participants in our study reported significantly higher vicarious discrimination than both Latinx and White participants. This finding corroborates recent research concerning discrimination experienced by Asian Americans [
Contrary to our expectations, in comparison to other large racial groups in our study, Black Americans reported experiencing more online discrimination compared with Asian Americans. In particular, we found that Black Americans reported the highest levels of individual as well as vicarious discrimination among all the racial/ethnic groups examined in this study, corresponding to the vast prevalence of online hatred directed toward Black Americans throughout US history [
Black Americans also reported the worst mental health outcomes. As a result, this study emphasizes the importance of recognizing the mental health struggles of this community, especially due to the disproportionate number of deaths in the Black community from COVID-19 health disparities [
The findings from our study also revealed that racial/ethnic identification moderates both individual and vicarious discrimination for STS. In other words, it can be understood that the STS levels of individuals who identify more strongly with their racial/ethnic community are more likely to be impacted by their experience with individual and vicarious discrimination. If one closely aligns themself and takes pride in their racial/ethnic community, attacks on that identity or on others who share that identity would be more personally devastating to them than to someone who is not as aligned with their racial/ethnic community. Considering that the extent to which one identifies with their racial/ethnic identity can be a powerful indicator of how adversely racial discrimination can impact their mental health outcomes, certain individuals may benefit more from reducing their exposure to online content or taking steps toward limiting their mental health effects of social media use by seeking mental health care. Racial/ethnic identification was not a moderator for the other 2 mental health outcomes. Taken as a whole, our findings regarding online racial discrimination suggest the necessity for some policy and educational interventions. For example, if policy-level regulations, such as content blocking, were implemented on a national level, there is a possibility that racial hate online could significantly decrease. Moreover, culturally sensitive educational plans for children and youth can be made to promote cross-cultural understanding and social awareness of social issues online. These potential educational opportunities that specifically discuss online racial discrimination and hate could be useful for reducing the prevalence of hateful speech on social media as well as providing social media users with ways to reduce the negative mental health impacts of online racial discrimination.
Our study connects with prior research in several ways. First, regarding the impact of social media use and discrimination on mental health, our findings are consistent with past research that shows that increases in media use are common during experiences of collective trauma [
Finally, our findings suggest that negative affect could aid in explaining the relationship between online racial discrimination and mental health outcomes. In the past, online and offline experiences with racial discrimination have been shown to trigger certain negative emotional or physical responses (eg, stress), which in turn may lead to worse mental well-being. However, this was not explicitly examined as negative affect [
A primary limitation of our study was the method used for data collection, specifically the use of college students as well as participants recruited from Amazon MTurk. Although the college student sample primarily identified as Asian or mixed Asian (232/471, 49.3%), other racial/ethnic groups, such as Black individuals (109/1147, 9.50%), were underrepresented in our sample; thus, experiences of discrimination online may have been underreported. Additionally, some studies indicate that MTurk samples may not be as representative as national probability samples [
Another limitation of our study was the time frame for which we kept the survey open. At the time of data collection, the United States was approaching an end to strict COVID-19 guidelines, and data collection was completed in 2 weeks in consideration of the rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic. However, the time frame during which we collected our data was not during the peak of the pandemic, nor the peak of racialized discrimination against Asian Americans. As such, we believe that the true salience of discrimination against AAPI was not fully captured by this survey, as many hate crimes were reported taking place in 2020 compared with the time of data collection [
Because of the limited size and representativeness of our sample, we were unable to run pan-ethnic comparisons of various Asian ethnicities (eg, comparing Japanese Americans with Indian Americans). Future research should conduct an examination of pan-ethnic comparisons of various Asian ethnicities, which will provide more insights into the experiences of Asian American communities. As previously mentioned, due to our data collection methods and inability to keep our survey available for longer periods of data collection, we could not examine changes in perceived online discrimination or the longer effects of exposure to online discrimination. Therefore, it remains important for future research to capture how changes in the prevalence of online discrimination in the wake of global events impact racial/ethnic minority groups.
Our study demonstrated a high prevalence of mental health concerns associated with social media usage related to COVID-19, as well as a link between perceived online discrimination and poor mental health during the pandemic. Our results concerning online social media may reflect the offline experiences and struggles of several racial/ethnic communities. Our study used a self-report survey data collection method to examine Asian Americans and various racial/ethnic groups living in the United States as they experienced perceived discrimination during the pandemic. This research and additional studies should broaden the scientific community’s and the public’s understanding of different ethnic groups’ social media use and its impact on their mental health, especially during a period of crisis.
Summary of independent and dependent variables.
Summary of Asian ethnicities.
Ordinal logistic regression results for secondary traumatic stress.
Ordinal logistic regression results for depression.
Ordinal logistic regression results for anxiety.
Asian, Pacific Islander, and Mixed Asian
Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model
indirect effect
Mechanical Turk
problematic social media usage
secondary traumatic stress
We thank the Department of Communication, University of California, Davis for funding.
None declared.