Social Media Expression as a Collective Strategy: How Perceptions of Discrimination and Group Status Shape US Latinos’ Online Discussions of Immigration

Abstract

The visibility and association affordances of social media facilitate their potential use for collective action, especially for marginalized and disempowered groups. Guided by social identity theory (SIT), this study examines how perceived discrimination and perceptions of personal and objective constraints on Latinos’ social status increase Latinos’ social media expression. The results indicate that increased perceived discrimination is associated with increased social media expression, especially for those who strongly endorse the use of collective strategies to improve the in-group’s status. Furthermore, status boundaries that are perceived to be impermeable due to objective and subjective barriers are also associated with increased social media expression, regardless of the participants’ reported need for collective action. The results are discussed regarding the relevant literature and theoretical implications are offered.

Introduction: Marginality and Social Media

“…In both cases, the authors test, and ultimately reinforce, existing theories. In the piece by Velasquez and Montgomery (this issue), the authors further validate recently developed measures of perceived permeability as a component of social identity theory. In contrast, Smith et al (this issue) examine the ability of the anger activism model to predict the mechanisms of online mobilization in response to bearing witness to racial discrimination.…”

“…The quantitative studies in the special issue include two surveys (Epstein & Quinn, this issue; Velasquez & Montgomery, this issue) and one experiment (Smith et al, this issue). Quantitative methods may be less often used for studies of marginality, but as Fassinger and Morrow (2013) and Cokley and Awad (2013) argue, that does not lessen their utility.…”

“…Quantitative studies can provide large, representative samples of cultural communities, establish cause and effect relationships, and provide results that may be more persuasive to policymakers. As one example, Velasquez and Montgomery (this issue) employed an online survey of Latino adults from a panel service. The survey was available in English or Spanish, with half of the participants completing it in each language.…”

“…In contrast to studies that used inductive theoretical approaches, there were a small number of papers that used a deductive approach to theory building. These two papers either referenced theories that explicitly deal with difference (social identity theory, Velasquez & Montgomery, this issue) or describe the responses that people have when exposed to marginalization and injustice (anger activism model, Smith et al, this issue). In both cases, the authors test, and ultimately reinforce, existing theories.…”

The Group Roots of Social Media Politics: Social Sorting Predicts Perceptions of and Engagement in Politics on Social Media

“…SIT suggests that highly identifying group members are more attentive to group-related cues in their environment and more likely to take action in ways that bolster their group’s positive distinctiveness (Hornsey, 2008). This should particularly be the case in the U.S., because (a) socially sorted individuals are uniquely primed to take action to help their groups, and (b) social media offer abundant opportunities for identity-defensive action (Carr, 2017; Velasquez & Montgomery, 2020).…”