“Pew study: 67 percent of white social media users don’t post about race”
“Not everyone is choosing animal videos and vacation pictures over commentary about race and racism. Pew found that black social media users are more likely than white or Hispanic users to use social media to discuss race. Twenty-eight percent of black social media users say at least some of the things they share or post on social networking sites are about race or race relations. One in five Hispanic respondents say the same.
Meanwhile, only 8 percent of white social media users say that at least some of things they share or post are about race relations, with a large majority (67 percent) saying they don’t venture into this area.
And it looks like black social media users who opt out of sharing their own race-related posts are still much more likely to see this content in their feed than their white counterparts. “Even among black social media users who say they rarely or never discuss race relations or racial inequality, a majority (55 percent) state that most or some of the posts they see on social media pertain to race or race relations. That share drops to 23 percent for their white counterparts,” according to Pew.
That means many white users are missing out on the important debates, analysis, and awareness-raising content that Pew found, in another part of the study, is often responsive to breaking news about racial injustice and draws attention to concerns about things like diversity and representation.”
I have been amazed and heartened by watching some of my friends begin to engage with race this past few years, even picking up on news and analysis before I do — a far cry from where they were in, say, 2012.
But I am also frustrated by some close white friends who persist in avoiding the topic. Frustrated not so much because I think they should change their behavior, but frustrated to realize that these are people in my life who will never be comfortable discussing some of the most important pieces of my life and experiences. Or, at least, these are friends who still have a lot of growing to do before we can be truly close.
