Online Prejudice and Discrimination: From Dating to Hating
Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Katherine B. Spencer, Jack Glaser · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2013
This chapter delves into the phenomena of prejudice and discrimination on the Internet, including an examination of the ways in which online prejudice affects offline behavior. It is hypothesized that the Internet has the potential to increase prejudice, while decreasing discrimination. The chapter begins by discussing group differences regarding who is on the Internet and what they are doing on it. It reveals that the “digital divide” appears to have shifted away from simple access and toward utilization. The chapter goes on to consider how the unique characteristics of the Internet, including anonymity, perceived privacy, legitimacy, and permanency, affect prejudice and discrimination. It then examines newer trends of communication on the Internet, focusing on social networking and Internet-based dating sites, and the implications of these forums for prejudice and discrimination. Finally, it concludes by detailing how scholars have utilized and can continue to harness the unique properties of the Internet to study prejudice and discrimination in innovative ways.