Racism In America: Donald Trump, Social Media Giving Teenagers A Reason To Share Racial Slurs?

5.6.16

Racism In America: Donald Trump, Social Media Giving Teenagers A Reason To Share Racial Slurs?: [ibtimes.com] Margaret Hagerman, an assistant professor of sociology at Mississippi State University in Starkville, whose research focuses on young people and racial ideologies, said youth racism isn’t necessarily surging, just being expressed in new ways, for reasons ranging from people’s upbringing to their social media habits and presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“Children are interpreting the world around them and forming ideas as a result of what they see,” she said. “As more of the stuff that’s been always beneath the surface is rising up, kids feel like it’s OK to do that, or document this behavior they weren’t previously documenting and sharing.”

Hagerman, who recently spent two years studying 30 white middle schoolers and their affluent families in the Midwest, said she sees three categories of teens: those who feel post-racial, those who feel victimized by other races and those who feel they should be advocates.