Journal of Children and Media | 2021
The crises of 2020: the effects of intersectionality and virality on marginalized youth in the U.S.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and violence inflicted on communities of color by police in the United States has caused unrest across the country. Scholars have focused on the significant influence of social media use during the twinned crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing political protests in terms of education, mental well-being, and health interventions. While that research is important, there has been little discussion about the role of virality in these converging crises and the ways youth with marginalized identities respond to them. In this context, the term “marginalized” refers to youth from racial or ethnic communities that have historically endured institutional discrimination, and deprivation in terms of economic and social resources (Alper, Katz, & Clark, 2016). By focusing on teenagers who live through intersectional strains of inequality, we draw attention to the complexity of the simultaneous viral health and social crises in more detail, and it is possible to better understand their needs.