IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i8p4824-d794978.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Xenophobic Bullying and COVID-19: An Exploration Using Big Data and Qualitative Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Karla Dhungana Sainju

    (Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada)

  • Huda Zaidi

    (Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada)

  • Niti Mishra

    (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 105 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S 3E, Canada)

  • Akosua Kuffour

    (Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada)

Abstract

Extant literature suggests that xenophobic bullying is intensified by isolated national or global events; however, the analysis of such occurrences is methodologically limited to the use of self-reported data. Examining disclosures of racist bullying episodes enables us to contextualize various perspectives that are shared online and generate insights on how COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue. Moreover, understanding the rationale and characteristics present in xenophobic bullying may have important implications for our social wellbeing, mental health, and inclusiveness as a global community both in the short and long term. This study employs a mixed-method approach using Big Data techniques as well as qualitative analysis of xenophobic bullying disclosures on Twitter following the spread of COVID-19. The data suggests that about half of the sample represented xenophobic bullying. The qualitative analysis also found that 64% of xenophobic bullying-related tweets referred to occasions that perpetuated racist stereotypes. Relatedly, the rationale for almost 75% of xenophobic bullying incidents was due to being Chinese or Asian. The findings of this study, coupled with anti-hate reports from around the world, are used to suggest multipronged policy interventions and considerations of how social media sites such as Twitter can be used to curb the spread of misinformation and xenophobic bullying.

Suggested Citation

  • Karla Dhungana Sainju & Huda Zaidi & Niti Mishra & Akosua Kuffour, 2022. "Xenophobic Bullying and COVID-19: An Exploration Using Big Data and Qualitative Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:8:p:4824-:d:794978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/8/4824/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/8/4824/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sebastian Wachs & Michelle F. Wright & Ruthaychonnee Sittichai & Ritu Singh & Ramakrishna Biswal & Eun-mee Kim & Soeun Yang & Manuel Gámez-Guadix & Carmen Almendros & Katerina Flora & Vassiliki Daskal, 2019. "Associations between Witnessing and Perpetrating Online Hate in Eight Countries: The Buffering Effects of Problem-Focused Coping," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-13, October.
    2. So Young Shin & Yeon-Jun Choi, 2021. "Comparison of Cyberbullying before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-11, September.
    3. Andrew Bacher-Hicks & Joshua Goodman & Jennifer Greif Green & Melissa K. Holt, 2022. "The COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted Both School Bullying and Cyberbullying," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 353-370, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Inoue, Atsushi & Tanaka, Ryuichi, 2024. "The rank of socioeconomic status within a class and the incidence of school bullying and school absence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. Sebastian Wachs & Juan Manuel Machimbarrena & Michelle F. Wright & Manuel Gámez-Guadix & Soeun Yang & Ruthaychonnee Sittichai & Ritu Singh & Ramakrishna Biswal & Katerina Flora & Vassiliki Daskalou & , 2022. "Associations between Coping Strategies and Cyberhate Involvement: Evidence from Adolescents across Three World Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-14, May.
    3. David R. Agrawal & Aline Bütikofer, 2022. "Public finance in the era of the COVID-19 crisis," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1349-1372, December.
    4. Rahlff, Helen & Rinne, Ulf & Sonnabend, Hendrik, 2023. "COVID-19, School Closures and (Cyber)Bullying in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 16650, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Qiong Wang & Xiao Luo & Ruilin Tu & Tao Xiao & Wei Hu, 2022. "COVID-19 Information Overload and Cyber Aggression during the Pandemic Lockdown: The Mediating Role of Depression/Anxiety and the Moderating Role of Confucian Responsibility Thinking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Magdalena Celuch & Atte Oksanen & Pekka Räsänen & Matthew Costello & Catherine Blaya & Izabela Zych & Vicente J. Llorent & Ashley Reichelmann & James Hawdon, 2022. "Factors Associated with Online Hate Acceptance: A Cross-National Six-Country Study among Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-13, January.
    7. Chen, Siyu & Cárdenas, Diana & Zhou, Haochen & Reynolds, Katherine J., 2024. "Positive school climate and strong school identification as protective factors of adolescent mental health and learning engagement: A longitudinal investigation before and during COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    8. Nigel Harriman & Neil Shortland & Max Su & Tyler Cote & Marcia A. Testa & Elena Savoia, 2020. "Youth Exposure to Hate in the Online Space: An Exploratory Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-14, November.
    9. Alvin Christian & Brian Jacob & John D. Singleton, 2022. "Assessing School District Decision-Making: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 30520, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Benjamin Hansen & Joseph J. Sabia & Jessamyn Schaller, 2022. "In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures," NBER Working Papers 30795, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Ying Guo & Hongyu Zhang & Yufei Xie & Xin Tian & Na Luo & Yan Zhang, 2022. "A Cross-Sectional Survey of National Chinese College Students’ Mental Status during COVID-19 Pandemic: Using a Compiled Stress Response Questionnaire," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-13, September.
    12. Bárbara Machado & Paula Lobato de Faria & Isabel Araújo & Sónia Caridade, 2024. "Cyber Interpersonal Violence: Adolescent Perspectives and Digital Practices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(7), pages 1-22, June.
    13. Jessie Bruhn & Christopher Campos & Eric Chen, 2023. "Who Benefits from Remote Schooling? Self-Selection and Match Effects," Working Papers 2023-004, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    14. Anna Sorrentino & Francesco Sulla & Margherita Santamato & Marco di Furia & Giusi Antonia Toto & Lucia Monacis, 2023. "Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Cyberbullying and Cybervictimization Prevalence among Children and Adolescents? A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-20, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:8:p:4824-:d:794978. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.