“Racism is Not Getting Worse, It’s Getting Filmed”: Investigating Online Vicarious Racism Among Black Students

In today’s increasingly digital world, the phenomenon of vicarious racism—indirect exposure to racist acts directed at others—has become a significant concern, particularly among Black college students. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the role of social media as a primary platform for witnessing racial discrimination, given the notable increase in virtual communication during this period. Black college students may be especially vulnerable to the psychological impacts of vicarious racism due to their social media usage. To advance the emerging literature, this study examines how Black college students coped with vicarious racism following the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on interviews conducted during the spring of 2022. Specifically, our research extends the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) by examining variations in Black college students’ coping responses to vicarious racism. Through a qualitative exploration of strength-based and survival-based coping strategies, this study builds on existing scholarship and provides deeper insights into coping mechanisms.