- On a recent podcast of "Therapy for Black Girls," Dr. Joy Harden and guest Dr. Brendesha Tynes discussed the growing impact that racism on social media has had on young adults of color.
- Dr. Tynes mentioned that 18- to 24-year-olds have experienced increased levels of anxiety and hopelessness after watching images of police violence on their feeds.
- This conversation comes on the heels of a report by the US Surgeon General that revealed increased levels of anxiety and depression in America's youth.
Young adults of color are dealing with mountains of stress these days, and mental health experts warn there's one more source of anxiety: the unrelenting number of videos showing police brutality popping up on their social media feeds.
On a recent episode of the "Therapy for Black Girls" podcast, host Dr. Joy Harden and guest Dr. Brendesha Tynes, a developmental psychologist, discussed racism online and its impact on the mental health of young adults of color. The chat eventually focused on videos of police violence on social media, and how these images are hurting the wellbeing of 18- to 24-year-olds.
"We're finding for emerging adults 18 to 24, when they are witnessing these viral videos of police killings, it's associated with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] symptoms," Tynes said. She added that this manifests itself as anxiety and hopelessness.
Tynes feels for today's youth, and she said she's also experienced grief and anxiety over these images. Both doctors cited the recordings that came to light after the police killing of George Floyd last year as a major source of stress.
"I have been doing this research like I said 20 years and I have yet to forget an image or video," Tynes said. "I put my settings so that these videos aren't automatically playing because it can steal a whole day or week of productivity for me."
Advice for dealing with racial trauma on social media
Mental-health professionals across the country agree with Dr. Tynes' assessment. They are equipping young adults of color with the tools to fight racial trauma.
Howard Stevenson, a professor of urban education at the University of Pennsylvania, is helping young adults fend off feelings of helplessness and anxiety after they've witnessed police violence. His approach is tailored to identifying and subduing any anxiety or feelings of self-harm following a racially stressful moment.
"These are very dehumanizing oppressions," Stevenson told the university-affiliated outlet Penn Today. "Even if the systems get better at treating people in a less dehumanizing way, you would still need to say every day I'm going to have to manage."
Stevenson's method is called "calculate, locate, and communicate."
When a young adult experiences a racially triggered mental-health crisis, Stevenson tells them to journal about their emotions, explain where they feel the intensity in their body, and communicate how the image triggered them.
While there are young adults of color who may not have the tools to manage racial trauma online, Tynes said she has uncovered research that says that some do.
Tynes said that if people in that demographic have increased critical media literacy, there is no visible anxiety or helplessness. She defines "critical media literacy" as the ability to recognize and critique racism. That skill, she said, provides a mental buffer for those individuals who have it.
Being able to think critically about these images is an essential tool for young Americans who are experiencing a lot of mental-health triggers at once, including the isolation brought on by the pandemic.
Earlier this month, US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy sounded the alarm on ballooning youth depression and anxiety as the pandemic carries on.
Depression and anxiety among young adults doubled during the pandemic, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Murthy attributed this to the hardships of COVID-19, climate change, gun violence, and racial injustice.
"It would be a tragedy if we beat back one public health crisis only to allow another to grow in its place," Murthy wrote in the report. "Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real, and they are widespread. But most importantly, they are treatable and often preventable."