"It's Just Normal, That's What They Do": Young Black Women's Reactions to Encountering Sexually Explicit Content on Social Media

Background: As a result of poor regulation by social media companies, sexually explicit content (i.e., pictures, videos, text depicting sexual activity) has become increasingly accessible on popular social media platforms. The pervasiveness of such content can lead to normalization, inhibiting users’ abilities recognize potential signs of potential abuses or harm, for instance sexual exploitation or non-consensual sharing of sexual content. As social media plays a pivotal role in the lives of young adults, it is essential that members of this population be supported in responding to potential indicators of harm. Particular emphasis is needed on the experiences of young Black women, who are frequently neglected from institutional protection. To enhance young Black women’s abilities to protect themselves and one another from harm, it is important to first understand how members of this demographic react and respond to sexually explicit materials posted by peers. The aim of this study was to describe young Black women’s reactions to sexually explicit materials posted on social media, and the role of normalization, and awareness of potential risks.

Methods: 27 young Black women (aged 15-24) who either lived or grew up in urban communities in the Pacific Southwest and Mid-west regions of the United States were recruited using snowball and convenience sampling. Participants engaged in semi-structured interviews exploring their sexual health experiences. Interview data were inductively analyzed in alignment with Braun and Clarke’s six-step approach to thematic analysis.

Findings: Analysis resulted in two key themes, each focusing on a different dimension of social media and sexually explicit materials. “I swear to God, Facebook is like a porn site”, captured reactions to content encountered on personal social media feeds. Participants described encountering images or videos depicting sexual activity as “normal”. They expressed awareness that the normalization put girls and women at risk for non-consensual sharing, and the impact that this knowledge had on their personal decisions regarding posting. “That's the new prostitution. They do it on social media”, captured reactions to peers monetizing sexually explicit content via social media. Participants knew of peers who used social media platforms to sell sexually explicit imagery, and expressed disproval, but did not otherwise note any discussion of potential risks for women engaged in such actions.

Conclusion and Implications: Young Black women are a vital resource for protecting one another online. One way in which social work practitioners can support their ability to do so is by informing members of this demographic on potential harms and risks to be aware of, as well as equipping them with actions to take when faced with unwelcome or potentially exploitive or non-consensual content. There is also a need for increased legislative action to mitigate the risk of exploitation and non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit materials of young Black women online.