- Title
- Students’ experiences and perceptions of racial prejudice and discrimination on social networking sites
- Creator
- Van Graan, Christelle
- Subject
- Online social networks--Psychological aspects
- Subject
- Internet users -- Psychology Cyberspace -- Psychological aspects Racism -- Psychological aspects Social psychology
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/44158
- Identifier
- vital:37119
- Description
- The present study set out to enhance the understanding of racial prejudice and discrimination on social networking websites or ‘sites’ from the perspective of university students. The research focused on discovering the perceived determinant factors of online racial prejudice and discrimination, as well as the impact social networking sites have on such behaviour. A qualitative research design was selected, which utilised the grounded theory method to explore and describe the experiences and perceptions of the eight participants recruited by means of purposive sampling. The aim of the study was achieved through individual semi-structured interviews and a concept definition questionnaire as data collection tools. The findings were compared to major extant theories and literature to determine whether existing explanations for the occurrence of this online behaviour is sufficient to account for this phenomenon. Using an iterative process of thematic analysis, the findings revealed several perceived factors that contribute to this behaviour. It was found that social networking site users, in all their psychological, psychosocial and cognitive attributes, are the primary source for this behaviour. Moreover, online racial prejudice and discrimination is initiated by the use of these platforms and their facilitative features, which has a perceived negative impact on social and racial relations. Grounded in the research data, an explanatory theory was formulated of individuals’ perceived behaviour on social networking sites, specifically pertaining to racial prejudice and discrimination, as well as to how this negatively manifests and causes racial division in society.
- Format
- iv, 183 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Christelle van Graan.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |