Why might members of racially minoritized groups seek anonymity when interacting with White people online? Codeswitching, emotional labour and burnout

Abstract

People can alter the nature of online intergroup interactions by becoming anonymous. Across three studies (N = 1107), we surveyed Black (Studies 1–3) and White (Study 2) participants in majority-White nations. We argue that Black people living in these countries face substantial pressures in interracial interactions, and that responses associated with the performative pressures of contact might predict a desire for anonymity in interracial settings online. We operationalized these responses in three distinct yet related ways: codeswitching (adjusting language or behaviour), emotional labour (suppressing negative and displaying positive emotions) and experiencing burnout from intergroup contact. As proposed: (1) Black participants who engaged in more codeswitching and emotional labour, and who felt more burned out when interacting with White people, were more likely to seek anonymity in an interracial interaction; (2) Black participants were more likely than White participants to engage in codeswitching and emotional labour, to feel burned out from interracial contact, and, in turn, to seek anonymity in interracial interactions; and (3) stigma consciousness and perceived discrimination partly explained the relationship between codeswitching, emotional labour, and burnout and seeking anonymity. Our findings elucidate how group processes might affect whether members of racially minoritised groups might seek anonymity online.