For years, creators have called out beauty filters for reinforcing Eurocentric features from lightened skin to narrower noses and even altered eye color. Now, a new study suggests the impact reaches far beyond aesthetics. According to researchers, these filters, paired with constant exposure to online racism, may be quietly harming Black adolescents’ mental health.
A study published in JAMA Network found that Black youth who encounter race-related online experiences, everything from discriminatory comments to traumatic videos of police violence, show increased signs of anxiety and depression the following day. And while positive cultural content does exist online, researchers note that negative experiences often outweigh the good.
On average, Black adolescents in the study experienced six race-related interactions per day, including 3.2 incidents of online racism and 2.8 positive experiences.
The research was led by Brendesha Tynes, a professor at the University of Southern California, with co-authors Devin English of Rutgers University and Taylor McGee of Christopher Newport University. Their work analyzed survey responses from 141 Black adolescents, ages 11 to 19, across the U.S. Data was collected over seven days in December 2020.
With hate speech rising online and diversity initiatives facing backlash nationwide, Tynes says this research is more urgent than ever.
“We need studies that are documenting what’s happening,” she explained in a recent interview with The Guardian. “And also we need platforms to help people to manage those experiences, to critique them.”
One finding that surprised even the researchers: algorithmic bias, including filters that lighten skin or Europeanize facial features, was strongly linked to next-day anxiety symptoms. Survey questions asked teens whether filters had straightened their hair, lightened their complexion, or made them appear “more European.” Others measured whether racial justice content failed to get traction due to platform suppression. Respondents reported encountering algorithmic bias about once every three days.
“We expected each of the three types of online racism to be associated with the next day’s depressive and anxiety symptoms,” Tynes said. “But I was still surprised that the algorithmic bias items were associated with mental health. It was the first time we were actually measuring it and although we expected it I was surprised that we actually found what we expected.”
Researchers found that Black adolescents exposed to online racism were more likely to report:
- Trouble falling asleep
- Difficulty concentrating at school
- Heightened anxiety
- Depressive symptoms
Some of the most concerning reactions came from interactions with biased algorithms, an area with almost no federal oversight despite its growing influence.
“Given what we found in this study, it’s very, very concerning,” said English. “Companies will not regulate themselves on this and that’s the role of the government to step in. We haven’t seen any federal level legislation to protect young people from the harms of social media and the harms of AI.”
Tynes points out that algorithmic bias doesn’t just impact mental health, it can have life-and-death consequences. Before white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine Black churchgoers in Charleston in 2015, he Googled “Black on white crime.” Search results funneled him to extremist websites that fueled his beliefs.
“Instead of him getting, at the time, the justice department’s actual facts on crime and who’s committing it,” said Tynes, “he got these biased white supremacist results, and then that fueled his desire to commit a massacre.” Tynes and fellow researchers at USC and the University of Maryland are developing a digital platform, expected to launch next spring, that will offer:
- Virtual reality modules
- Digital literacy tools
- Mental health support
- Education on how racism infiltrates online spaces
- Strategies to “critique, counter and cope” with harmful content
She believes that helping youth understand the history and mechanics of online racism can lessen its emotional impact.
The research team also plans to study teens’ experiences over longer periods and explore how positive cultural messages, resilience, and Black history education help adolescents navigate these digital environments. Ultimately, Tynes hopes states will take the lead in protecting young people of color where federal oversight falls short. She wants students equipped with the knowledge and confidence to “… help people protect themselves, critique the messages, and place them in historical context so that they don’t have the impact that they have.”
