Youths as targets: factors of online hate speech victimization among adolescents and young adults

Abstract

A significant number of adolescents and young adults are targeted by online hate speech. The effect of such hateful utterances can involve severe psychological harm, especially for youths who have to master developmental tasks. Therefore, drawing on criminology’s routine activity theory, this study investigates the factors that help explain why youths become victimized through online hate speech. We conducted a national quota-based quantitative online survey that was representative of adolescent and young adult online users (N = 1,180). In the results, we identified six latent profiles of young targets with overall high or low online hate speech victimization, victimization due to gender, migration background, religion, or political engagement on behalf of the queer community. While relative subjective deprivation, political participation, and lower digital media literacy positively predicted overall victimization through online hate speech, being targeted was more likely for members of the aforementioned social groups and those showing political engagement.