"Speak[ing] My Mind": Reasons for Using Twitter and the Online Experiences, Critical Media Literacy, and Racial Identity of Black American Emerging Adults

Abstract: Black emerging adults in the United States make up a significant proportion of Twitter users and social media is an important developmental context. Media research has examined Black populations’ Twitter use and developmental research has considered social media writ large, but less research exists on Black emerging adults’ developmental uses of Twitter. This mixed methods study (1) traced reasons for Black emerging adults’ Twitter use to developmental aspects of emerging adulthood, and (2) explored whether these reasons differ by online and developmental characteristics. Data were collected from 203 Black emerging adults. Both qualitative (i.e., open-ended response) and quantitative (i.e., self-report questionnaire) data were collected via an online survey. Six qualitative categories described participants’ motivation for using Twitter: relationships, identity exploration, independence, financial possibilities, recreation, and coping and wellness. Participants who used Twitter for independence had higher critical media literacy. Participants who used Twitter for recreation and for identity explorations felt more positively about being Black and differed in other aspects of their racial identity. Findings suggest that Twitter is used by Black emerging adults to achieve developmental goals and that the Twitter empowers Black users to explore their racial identity in meaningful ways.