“My friends keep me woke about these things”: how college students experience and engage with police use of force content on social media

Abstract

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.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katelynn Towne

Katelynn Towne, Ph.D., is a Research Coordinator at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Her research focuses on strategies and programs that aim to reduce social inequities within the criminal justice system, with a specific focus on policing, reentry, and victimization. Dr. Towne is a first-generation college graduate with a B.A. in sociology and psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia.