My friends keep me woke about these things

How College Students Experience and Engage With Police Use of Force Content on Social Media

Bibliographic Data

ID2155703
AuthorsKatelynn Towne (0000-0003-0743-340X, Nebraska Center for Justice Research, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, USA, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume42
Issue1
Pages61-74
Publication date2022-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Spectrum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0273-2173 • E-ISSN: 1521-0707
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02732173.2022.2068099
OpenAlexW4225117595
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited51

This study explores retrospective social media experiences of college students from the St. Louis area and their level of engagement with content on police use of force, using qualitative semi-structured interviews (N = 32). Participants were asked about their online experiences with content showing the police use of force, the extent of their engagement with the content, and the types of police force they approve of. The study revealed that most participants who use social media experienced emotions of sadness, anger, and frustration when they observed the police use of force online, making them question police legitimacy. Although a majority of participants acknowledged police use of force news on social media helped them form opinions about law enforcement, only a small portion chose to share this content on their social media platforms. This is possibly due to the fear of negative backlash and/or employment and other opportunities they may be denied. Use of force approval rationales also varied by race when participants imagined hypothetical instances. The findings have implications for theories of media and race relations

Anger · Content analysis · Criminology · Law enforcement · Legitimacy · Police brutality · Political science · Sadness · Social media · Sociology · Use of force · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOI