Visual Social Media and Black Activism: Exploring How Using Instagram Influences Black Activism Orientation and Racial Identity Ideology Among Black Americans

Abstract

During the civil unrest emphasizing the Black Lives Matter movement amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Instagram was widely adopted by activists, journalists, and the general audience to disseminate and gather information about critical social issues and protests. Through a survey sampling Black Instagram users (N = 402), this study examined how Black people’s use of Instagram and its specific features—Instagram Carousel, Instagram Live, Instagram Story, standard post, and comment section—influenced their Black activism orientation, in-app activism engagement, and Black racial identity ideology. The results indicated that, along with Instagram use, Instagram network politicalness, diversity, and authenticity are also important predictors.

Keywords

Black activism social media Instagram multidimensional model of racial identity Instagram Carousel #BlackLivesMatter racial identity

During the period of civil unrest centering #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Instagram usage skyrocketed, especially in the intersected realms of activism, journalism, and communication. According to a 2020 study conducted by the Reuters Institute, Instagram—a visual media sharing app—emerged as a news distribution platform and would surpass Twitter as a source for news (Newman et al., 2020). Data showed that the number of people consuming news through Instagram had doubled since 2018 (Nielsen et al., 2020). This pattern was especially prominent among young populations; at least one in four of U.S. residents aged 18 to 24 have indicated that they had utilized Instagram to retrieve news recently, whereas only 17% had obtained information through newspapers (Nielsen et al., 2020). Worldwide, the emergence of Instagram as a news source was even more prominent; 49% of young adults in Argentina and 38% in German had used Instagram as their main news consumption channel (Nielsen et al., 2020). Reports had demonstrated the importance of Instagram as a social platform: Instagram had more than 1 billion active users (Enberg, 2020); 6 in 10 American account holders used Instagram daily (Auxier & Anderson, 2021); half a billion individuals utilized Instagram Stories on a daily basis (Statista, 2021); Instagram Carousel posts generated the highest engagement rate (2%) when compared with other Instagram post types (Southern, 2020); more than 1 million people watched and engaged with Instagram Live everyday (Wise, 2022). In response to these trends, established news outlets like The Guardian and the New York Times started implementing journalism practice strategies tailored specifically for Instagram platform features (Davies, 2018).

Instagram’s effects transcended information gathering. In the aspect of activism and Black social movements, Instagram became one of the unexpected platforms through which individuals and institutions organized and mobilized (Makalintal, 2020). For example, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, grassroots organizations, activists, and the entertainment industry took to Instagram to execute various forms of activism, including the controversial #BlackoutTuesday, broadcasting street protests through Instagram Live, and educating people on social issues through Instagram Story and Instagram Carousel (Guerrero, 2020).

Scholars, activists, and practitioners argued that Instagram Carousel—the widely adopted feature allowing account holders to post slideshow-style content—might have boosted the dissemination and persuasion of literacy/knowledge of social issues and activism (Ables, 2020; Makalintal, 2020; Nguyen, 2020). Activists and academics published such swipe-through galleries of texts and visuals covering knowledge/information about news events, social justice, resources, and actionable mini-guides to democratize access to information and literacy on complex social issues (Guerrero, 2020). For example, they dissected topics ranging from “structural racism,” “defund the police,” “reliable sources to donate to #BlackLivesMatter,” to “how to support Black-owned businesses” (Guerrero, 2020). News outlets also started adopting Instagram Carousel as a format to break their coverage into piecemeal textual and graphical slides. Mainstream media (e.g., the New York Times, the Washington Post) and digital native media (e.g., Mashable, Vox, Vice) published feature articles documenting and analyzing this phenomenon revolving around Instagram Carousel and social justice activism (Nguyen, 2020). They attributed the rise of activism and new waves of social consciousness to a certain form of communication empowered by a specific feature on a platform. Qualitative research showed that social media mechanisms might cultivate “crowdsourcing resistance” through circulating educational resources covering “non-normative” perspectives (Clark, 2020, p. 222). These phenomena called for research to explore the relationships between these emerging technology features and the activism of marginalized social groups like Black Americans.

Through integrating the Modality-Agency-Interactivity-Navigability (MAIN) model, social media effects, Black activism orientation, and the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI), this study examined whether minority members’ use of Instagram influenced their psychological and behavioral responses in activism and identity. More specifically, this study explored how Black Instagram users’ use of the Instagram platform and its features—such as Instagram Carousel, Instagram Live, Instagram Story, standard post, and comment section—to access information affected their tendencies to engage in different types of activism. Furthermore, this study examined whether using Instagram reshaped Black people’s racial ideology.

The present research filled critical gaps in our understanding of social media and Black activism. Existing studies primarily focused on the effects of people’s use of a particular platform or overall social media use, leaving out the effects of specific platform features. Also, while social media activism had been quantitatively examined in different countries and political systems, these studies overwhelmingly revolved around social media’s effects on general populations rather than marginalized communities. Many studies did not have sufficient samples of marginalized populations to statistically identify the unique effects social media have on minorities. In a time of civil unrest centering marginalized groups, quantitative research should examine social media’s roles in activism among minority members and shift research focus to a specific social media and its features. Consequently, the findings would generate concrete strategic implications for minority community leaders, activists, and media communicators.

Literature Review

Black Activism

Conceptually, activism refers to one type of political engagement, consisting of (a) legal extraparliamentary actions, such as protesting and boycotting; (b) illegal extraparliamentary activities like civil disobedience; and (c) formal political participation, including campaigning, voting, and communicating with political representatives (Ekman & Amnå, 2012; Hope et al., 2016; Pender et al., 2019). It involves social movements and/or grassroots organizing aimed at changing policies and political processes (e.g., judicial, legislative, or electoral process) (Hope, Pender, & Riddick, 2019). Different from non-activists, activists characteristically embody politicized collective identities that are in close proximity to or allied with marginalized groups, challenging the status quo that privileges the dominant groups (Curtin & McGarty, 2016).

Similarly, Black activism is “a multidimensional set of behaviors that aim for justice, critical awareness, and empowerment within the Black communities,” which could be confrontational or peaceful (Corning & Myers, 2002; Hope, Pender, & Riddick, 2019; Pender et al., 2019 p. 530; White-Johnson, 2012). Pender et al. (2019) have conceptualized Black activism through differentiating social justice action orientation into three dimensions by the risk involved and formality: High-risk orientation refers to people’s likelihood of partaking in activism actions that will lead to conflicts and harms physically or psychologically (e.g., obstructing the access to public areas, confronting the police); Low-risk orientation is people’s tendency to engage in political activities involving minimal risks (e.g., Boycotting a brand/product or signing a petition for political reasons with the goal of supporting Black people); and Formal political orientation refers to engaging in activism within the procedure and structure of the existing political ecosystem (e.g., campaigning for or donating to political candidates advocating for Black issues). Research has shown that the relationship between Black people’s discriminatory experiences of institutional racism and the consequent high-risk activism orientation vary depending on their perceived public attitudes toward Black people; among Black youth who perceive the public view Black people negatively, the more institutional racism they experience, the more likely they are to engage in high-risk Black activism (Hope, Gugwor, et al., 2019).

While #BlackLivesMatter has gained significant media and scholarly attention, there is little quantitative literature exploring how emerging social media technologies and their mechanisms influence Black people’s engagement in Black activism (Freelon et al., 2018; Jackson & Foucault Welles, 2016). Most quantitative media effects studies on Black activism focus on social media protest, media framing, and how different framing/reporting approaches influence non-Black people’s attitudes toward Black issues and the Black community as well as media engagement (e.g., Brown & Mourão, 2021). Also, these important existing studies predominantly take the approaches of quantitative content analysis (e.g., Brown et al., 2019; Elmasry & el-Nawawy, 2017) or experimental design (e.g., Brown & Mourão, 2021). To fill these research gaps, the present study takes a survey approach to examine how Black people’s use of Instagram and its various content format features might influence their Black activism orientation.

Social Media Effects, Instagram, and Black Activism: From Platforms to Features

The theorizations of social media effects mainly fall into three foci (Boulianne, 2019; Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2014; Shah et al., 2017). The first theoretical focus is social media as the channels of news exposure or information gathering from networked individuals and institutions (e.g., Delli Carpini & Keeter, 1996; McLeod et al., 1999). This stream of research argues that people’s social media use influences their political knowledge through exposing them to information related to sociopolitical issues, which, in turn, affects their civic and political engagement. The second focus is the effects of environmental characteristics of people’s online relational networks, such as network size, network heterogeneity/diversity, social tie closeness, and social ties to groups, institutions, and individuals of a certain nature (e.g., Gil de Zúñiga at al., 2012, 2014; Huckfeldt et al., 1995). That is, social media are important for building strong or weak ties and expanding one’s online network in a more like-minded or diverse direction, which influences people’s decisions in participating in political and civil activities. The third theoretical focus examines the roles of online (and offline) expressions facilitated by social media (e.g., Kim et al., 2013; Shah et al., 2017). It argues that the online exchanges/interactions/discussions inevitably reshape people’s political knowledge and subsequently their behaviors.

The existing studies on social media’s effects on political engagement, civic participation, and activism, however, overwhelmingly focus on the overall usage of social media, which calls for research to explore the possible impacts of a specific platform and its features. The MAIN model states that new forms of media technologies bring “a set of affordances or capabilities” that can influence the presentation of as well as the nature and perception of the content (Sundar, 2008, p. 75). The everchanging evolvements of specific new media mechanisms of platforms or features drive and reshape how the audiences sort and process media information. Moreover, these innovative affordances empowered by the new technological features of digital platforms are capable of activating “cognitive heuristics, or mental rules of thumb that bias users’ evaluations of media” (Waddell & Bailey, 2017, p. 537). As a result, different features on the same platform might present the content differently in terms of its depth, breadth, perspective, and format. For example, Instagram Carousel’s slideshow format and typographical visual aesthetics might allow content creators to create piecemeal bite-size digestible zine-like information about complex social issues and present it through graphic design and typography that better match people’s cognitive flows. Therefore, people who get news and information through Instagram Carousel more frequently might be more likely to have more in-depth understanding and knowledge of the issues cognitively, which might eventually influence their activism behavioral tendencies (i.e., Black activism orientation) and their beliefs about race (i.e., Black racial ideology). Also, because of the widespread use of Instagram Carousel during the civil unrest in 2020, this specific feature, compared with other features on Instagram, might be consequently perceived to be more aligned with activistic or grassroots purposes in nature. Thus, it is important to explore how people’s use of specific features of a social platform affects activism outcomes.

The aforementioned three theoretical foci of social media literature inform the present research that it is crucial to consider (a) people’s social media use for news and information gathering, (b) the characteristics of one’s online network environment, and (c) individuals’ online discussion/expression patterns when examining the roles that specific features of a particular social media platform play in marginalized social groups’ activism engagement. In the context of Instagram communication, social media use should be specified and operationalized as Instagram use and other social media use separately. In response to the aforementioned phenomena in which certain features/formats of a social media platform stand out in a social movement, the present study should also measure people’s uses of specific Instagram features—Instagram Carousel, Instagram Live, Instagram Story, and standard single post, and comment section—to gather information and news. People’s uses of Instagram platform and features should be the key variables, controlling for people’s use of other social media to rule out possible confounding effects. In the aspects of network environment and online discussion/expression patterns, it is important to examine the roles of individuals’ Instagram network characteristics. Therefore, the present study conceptualizes Instagram network characteristics into three components: (a) the perceived Instagram network politicalness (the extent to which an individual perceives their Instagram social network to be political), (b) Instagram network diversity (whether one considers that their Instagram network consists of people from diverse social categories, such as race, gender, sexuality, ability, and class), and (c) Instagram network authenticity (whether they consider the people that they follow on Instagram to be authentic, true to themselves, trustworthy, and reliable). Politicalness is broadly defined as “the quality or state of being political,” which can be characterized as hyperpolitical, apolitical (e.g., political apathy/antipathy), or anywhere in between (Selenu, 2017). While it can be individual-centric or environment-centric, social network politicalness—within the context of the present study—focuses on the latter (Bennett & Entman, 2001). Social network politicalness refers to the levels of politicalness that one perceives most people in their social network collectively embody in general, which impacts the dynamics within the network sphere (Duggan & Smith, 2016). Survey data have shown that one’s perceived high politicalness in their social network on social media can render them more informed about and involved in political/social issues (Duggan & Smith, 2016). Moreover, research has supported that network diversity (e.g., Putnam, 2000; Quintelier et al., 2012; Scheufele et al., 2006) and network authenticity (e.g., Valenzuela et al., 2009) can increase political participation. Therefore, perceived Instagram social network politicalness, diversity, and authenticity should be considered as important social network environment attributes that positively prompt activism engagement and political expressions. Thus, the present study poses the following hypotheses:

H1: Instagram platform use in general for information gathering will be positively related to Black individuals’ Black activism orientation across (a) low-risk, (b) high-risk, and (c) formal political activism.

H2: Black individuals’ use of Instagram Carousel—as opposed to other specific features (i.e., Instagram Live, Instagram Story, Standard Single Post, Comment Section)—for information gathering will be positively related to their Black activism orientation across (a) low-risk, (b) high-risk, and (c) formal political activism.

H3: Black individuals’ perceived Instagram network politicalness will be positively related to their Black activism orientation across (a) low-risk, (b) high-risk, and (c) formal political activism.

H4: Black individuals’ perceived Instagram network diversity will be positively related to their Black activism orientation across (a) low-risk, (b) high-risk, and (c) formal political activism.

H5: Black individuals’ perceived Instagram network authenticity will be positively related to their Black activism orientation across (a) low-risk, (b) high-risk, and (c) formal political activism.

Moreover, it is unclear how Black people’s use of the Instagram platform and its different features influences how often they engage in online activism within the Instagram app ecosystem. Such in-app activism engagement includes creating original content related to political/social issues, taking screenshots and reposting content regarding political/social issues, direct-messaging friends and family Instagram content about political/social issues in the app, and so on. Research has found mixed results in how online and offline activism participations are associated with each other (Greijdanus et al., 2020), so we cannot assume in-app activism engagement will share similar patterns with Black activism orientation. Thus, this study poses the following research question:

RQ1: How will Black individuals’ use of the Instagram platform and features for information gathering, perceived Instagram network politicalness, Instagram network diversity, and Instagram network authenticity be related to their in-app activism engagement?

Black Racial Identity Ideology and Social Media: Can Using Instagram Reshape Black People’s Self-Concepts?

Going beyond Black activism orientation, the present study also explores how Black people’s social media platform and feature use influences their Black racial identity ideology. Racial identity refers to “the complex inner workings of ideological beliefs and attitudes related to one’s race” (Pender et al., 2019, p. 532; Sellers et al., 1998; White-Johnson, 2012). To better measure and study Black people’s self-concepts related to being Black, Sellers et al. (1998) established the MMRI. For this study, we pay particular attention to examine how Black people’s use of the Instagram platform and specific features influences racial centrality, private regard, humanist ideology, and nationalist ideology as theorized by the MMRI.

Black centrality captures the extent to which individuals feel that being Black is pivotal to their self-concept and core identity. Private regard means individuals’ attitudes toward being Black in society. Humanist ideology emphasizes embracing the universality and connections of all people. Nationalist ideology is the belief that Black people should prioritize Black experiences/uniqueness and exclusively protect the Black community through political, cultural, economic means and beyond (Sellers et al., 1998). Existing research has examined how dimensions of Black racial identity influence their prosocial involvement (e.g., Pender et al., 2019; White-Johnson, 2012). However, most of these studies treat Black racial identity ideology as personal traits, independent variables, or control variables. The present study argues that using a digital platform or a feature that is considered more pervasively activistic/grassroots or one of the main channels to disseminate subjugated social justice knowledge/information might positively reshape not only individuals’ literacy on social issues but also their understanding of the self. Thus, this study treats dimensions of Black racial ideology as dependent variables and poses the following hypotheses:

H6: Instagram platform use in general for information gathering will be positively related to Black individuals’ Black racial ideology across (a) Black centrality, (b) private regard, (c) humanist ideology, and (d) nationalist ideology.

H7: Black Individuals’ use of Instagram Carousel—as opposed to other specific features (i.e., Instagram Live, Instagram Story, Standard Single Post, Comment Section)—for information gathering will be positively related to their Black racial ideology across (a) Black centrality, (b) private regard, (c) humanist ideology, and (d) nationalist ideology.

H8: Black individuals’ perceived Instagram network politicalness will be positively related to their Black racial ideology across (a) Black centrality, (b) private regard, (c) humanist ideology, and (d) nationalist ideology.

H9: Black individuals’ perceived Instagram network diversity will be positively related to their Black racial ideology across (a) Black centrality, (b) private regard, (c) humanist ideology, and (d) nationalist ideology.

H10: Black individuals’ perceived Instagram network authenticity will be positively related to their Black racial ideology across (a) Black centrality, (b) private regard, (c) humanist ideology, and (d) nationalist ideology.

In addition to the key variables related to Instagram, Black activism, and racial ideology, the present study also takes into consideration important political and media antecedents. Studies have found that political efficacy—people’s perceived self-competency in influencing public affairs—is a positive predictor for political or civic participation outcomes (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2014; Kim et al., 2013). Furthermore, researchers have theorized that discussing with non-like-minded individuals and being exposed to diverse points of view (i.e., discussion network heterogeneity) offline and online are related to the deliberative process, the quality of opinions, and active citizenship (Habermas, 1989; Kim et al., 2013; McLeod et al., 1999). Thus, it is important to take into account and control for these variables.

Method

Participants

An online survey was distributed among Black U.S. adults nationwide. To be qualified for this study, the participants had to (a) identify as Black Americans, regardless of their ethnicities, and (b) be active Instagram users with existing Instagram account. The sample was recruited through Qualtrics Panel who optimized response quality through compensating its 1.8 million participants according to the task complexity and the acquisition difficulty of target populations (M. Li, 2022).

The final sample consisted of 402 Black U.S. adults aged between 18 and 77 (M = 32.012, SD = 13.839), with a response rate of 31.6%. 72% were female (n = 292). While all participants identified as Black and the majority African American, 7.2% of participants also identified as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin (n = 29), followed by Caucasian (3.7%, n = 15), American Indian or Alaskan Native (1.5%, n = 6), Asian American/Pacific Islander (0.7%, n = 3), Other (0.5%, n = 2), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (0.2%, n = 1), in addition to being Black. 43.3% of participants lived in Suburban Communities (n = 174), followed by Urban Communities (42.8%, n = 172), Rural Areas (12.7%, n = 51), and Other (1.2%, n = 5). 66.4% of the participants (n = 255) earned Some College or higher degrees (M = 2.721, Mode = “Some College”). 52.2% of participants (n = 210) had a household income equal to or below $39.999 (M = 4.888, Mdn = “$30,000 to $39,999”). Overall, the political ideology of this sample was considered moderate (M = 4.512, Mdn = “Moderate”).

Measures

Black activism orientation

Through a 7-point Likert-type scale, this study assessed Black activism orientation through the Black Community Activism Orientation Scale (Hope, Pender, & Riddick, 2019). It consists of three multi-item subscales measuring three dimensions of Black activism: (a) Low-Risk (e.g., “Display a poster or bumper sticker with a political message specific to the Black community”; Cronbach’s α = .881, M = 4.880, SD = 1.471), (b) High-Risk (e.g., “Engage in a political activity related to the Black community in which you knew you would be arrested”; Cronbach’s α = .917, M = 3.755, SD = 1.709), and (c) Formal Political (e.g., “Campaign by phone for a political candidate who supports Black issues”; Cronbach’s α = .898, M = 4.418, SD = 1.495).

Black racial identity ideology

Through four multi-item subscales from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (Sellers et al., 1998), this study assessed four dimensions of Black racial ideology. The four dimensions measured were Black Centrality (e.g., “In general, being Black is an important part of my self-image”; Cronbach’s α = .746, M = 4.788, SD = 1.095), Private Regard (e.g., “I feel that the Black community has made valuable contributions to this society”; Cronbach’s α = .871, M = 4.608, SD = 0.827), Humanist (e.g., “Black people would be better off if they were more concerned with the problems facing all people than just focusing on Black issues”; Cronbach’s α = .728, M = 4.1617, SD = 1.309), and Nationalist (e.g., “Black students are better off going to schools that are controlled and organized by Black people”; Cronbach’s α = .799, M = 4.762, SD = 1.128).

In-app activism engagement

People’s in-app activism engagement was assessed by asking them how often they engage in in-app activities related to activism through five items on a 7-point Likert-type scale (1 = Never, 7 = Often). For example, “I create original Instagram content (e.g., standard post, Instagram Carousel/slide show, Instagram Story, Instagram Live) related to political/social issues,” “I take screenshots and re-post Instagram content regarding political/social issues,” among others (Cronbach’s α = .893, M = 3.523, SD = 1.625).

Instagram platform and feature use for information gathering

On a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (Never) to 7 (All the time), participants indicated how often they used Instagram in general (M = 4.28, SD = 2.043) and its specific features/functions, including Instagram Carousel/Slideshow (M = 3.31, SD = 2.063), Instagram Carousel/Slideshow (M = 3.31, SD = 2.063), Instagram Story (M = 3.94, SD = 2.116), Instagram Live (M = 3.18, SD = 2.052), Comment Section (M = 3.84, SD = 2.020), Standard Single Post (M = 4.14, SD = 2.030) to “stay informed about public issues, events, and politics (e.g., #BlackLivesMatters, COVID-19, elections, police brutality)” (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012, p. 324).

Instagram network politicalness

Participants indicated the extent to which they agree with the three statements about their perceived politicalness of their Instagram network. The statements included “The people I follow on Instagram are very political,” “The people I follow on Instagram post/share a lot of content on political social issues,” and “The people I follow on Instagram care about social issues very much” (Cronbach’s α = .762, M = 4.178, SD =1.319).

Instagram network authenticity

Participants indicated how authentic they perceived their Instagram network to be. The sample statements included “The people I follow on Instagram are authentic” and “I trust the opinion of the people that I follow on Instagram,” among others (Cronbach’s α = .748, M = 4.554, SD = 1.197).

Instagram following diversity

Participants indicated the extent to which they agreed with the statement, “On Instagram, I follow individuals from diverse backgrounds (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, class, culture, ability)” (M = 5.11, SD = 1.618).

Heterogeneity of discussion network

Participants indicated, through three items, how frequently they discuss public affairs with people from “a different race or ethnicity,” “a different social class,” and “outside of your social groups” (Diehl et al., 2016; Cronbach’s α = .916, M = 3.480, SD = 1.812).

Political efficacy and political ideology

Based on Kim et al.’s (2013) measurement of political efficacy, this study asked participants to respond to the statement, “I think people like me can influence government” (M = 4.53, SD = 1.664). Political ideology was assessed through a scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Conservative) to 7 (Strongly Liberal) (M = 6.35, SD = 2.168).

Other social media use

Adapted based on Gil de Zúñiga et al. (2012) measurement, this study asked participants to indicate how frequently they utilized the following social media platforms for getting news: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr, Google+, and Reddit. An index was created by averaging all items (M = 4.59, SD = 2.063).

Results

Data Analysis Strategies

To test the proposed hypotheses and research questions with regard to Black people’s Instagram network environment and their uses of Instagram platform and specific features in relation their Black activism orientation, in-app engagement, and Black identity ideology, the present study employed multiple sets of hierarchical ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. More specifically, one OLS regression was run for every dependent variable, with other variables being entered in respective blocks. The participants’ demographics—age, sex, education, household income—were entered into the first block as control variables, followed by the second block for political and media antecedents that include political ideology, political efficacy, political discussion network heterogeneity, and other social media use for news. The third block looked at Black individuals’ perception of their Instagram environment, which examines the main effects of perceived Instagram network politicalness, diversity, and authenticity. Finally, the use of Instagram platform in general and the use of specific features for information gathering were entered into the final block. Through this procedure, this study was able to investigate how each block of variables influences respective dependent variables and to explore the effects of the key independent variables, taking into consideration other possible confounding variables. See Tables 1 –3 for the findings concerning the hypotheses and research questions.

Table 1.

Prediction of Black Activism Orientation.

	Low-risk		High-risk		Formal political
	β	p	β	p	β	p
Block 1: Demographics
Age	−.033	.517	−.248***	.000	−.036	.482
Sex	.003	.957	−.033	.499	−.029	.571
Edu	.070	.188	.038	.459	.035	.506
Household income	.079	.134	.005	.919	.052	.324
ΔR² (%)	1.4%		5.9%***		0.7%
Block 2: Political & media antecedents
Political ideology	.304***	.000	.030	.522	.060	.186
Political efficacy	.242***	.000	.192***	.000	.326***	.000
Political discussion network heterogeneity	.214***	.000	.224***	.000	.205***	.000
Other social media use for news	.002	.965	.116*	.023	.136**	.006
ΔR² (%)	25.4%***		15%***		24.3%***
Block 3: Instagram perception
Instagram network politicalness	.103^†	.070	.155*	.011	.101^†	.089
Instagram network diversity	.159***	.000	−.053	.287	.017	.718
Instagram network authenticity	.122*	.022	.123*	.030	.130*	.019
ΔR² (%)	6.7%***		3.7%***		3.2%**
Block 4: Instagram feature uses
Instagram in general	.197**	.001	.081	.215	2.793**	.005
Instagram Carousel/slideshow	−.120*	.046	−.028	.670	−.122^†	.052
Instagram Story	.092	.174	.031	.669	.057	.422
Instagram Live	−.058	.380	.083	.249	.096	.168
Comment section	−.073	.289	−.081	.278	−.166*	.021
Standard single post	−.022	.730	−.035	.604	.017	.801
ΔR² (%)	3.0%**		0.7%		2.4%*
Total ΔR² (%)	36.5%		25.4%		27.5%

Note. Sample size = 402; cell entries are final-entry ordinary least squares (OLS) standardized beta (β) coefficients.

†

p < .10. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Table 2.

Prediction of Instagram In-App Activism Engagement.

	In-app activism engagement
	β	p
Block 1: Demographics
Age	−.219***	.000
Sex	.036	.471
Edu	.049	.342
Household income	.073	.160
ΔR² (%)	5.3%***
Block 2: Political & media antecedents
Political ideology	−.041	.252
Political efficacy	.190***	.000
Political discussion network heterogeneity	.467***	.000
Other social media use for news	.280	.000
ΔR² (%)	48.1%***
Block 3: Instagram perception
Instagram network politicalness	.258***	.000
Instagram network diversity	.010	.774
Instagram network authenticity	.052	.209
ΔR² (%)	5.7%***
Block 4: Instagram feature uses
Instagram in general	.038	.418
Instagram Carousel/slideshow	.113*	.015
Instagram Story	.010	.851
Instagram Live	.032	.532
Comment section	.046	.392
Standard single post	.034	.487
ΔR² (%)	2.7%***
Total ΔR² (%)	61.9%

Note. Sample size = 402; Cell entries are final-entry ordinary least squares (OLS) standardized Beta (β) coefficients.

†

p < .10. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Table 3.

Prediction of Black Racial Identity Ideology.

	Black centrality		Private regard		Humanist		Nationalist
	β	p	β	p	β	p	β	p
Block 1: Demographics
Age	.104*	.039	.149**	.003	.148**	.004	.032	.533
Sex	.032	.518	.134**	.007	−.025	.624	.052	.306
Edu	.107*	.042	.063	.228	−.032	.543	.096	.071
Household income	.042	.416	.025	.622	.014	.783	.008	.877
ΔR² (%)	3.1%*		4.3%**		2.3%		1.3%
Block 2: Political & media antecedents
Political ideology	.217***	.000	.224***	.000	−.170***	.000	.193***	.000
Political efficacy	.099^†	.053	.198***	.000	.114*	.027	.277***	.000
Political discussion network heterogeneity	.049	.390	.030	.585	−.005	.933	.222***	.000
Other social media use for news	−.103^†	.058	−.102^†	.055	.176**	.001	.006	.899
ΔR² (%)	7.2%***		10.9%***		6.6%***		21.7%***
Block 3: Instagram perception
Instagram network politicalness	.110^†	.092	.060	.330	.024	.715	.088	.127
Instagram network diversity	.040	.454	.218***	.000	.059	.273	.131**	.006
Instagram network authenticity	.071	.243	.067	.245	.139*	.024	.196***	.000
ΔR² (%)	2.2%*		6.4%***		2.7%**		8.2%***
Block 4: Instagram feature uses
Instagram in general	.064	.357	.212***	.000	.046	.511	.092	.138
Instagram Carousel/slideshow	−.149*	.033	−.303***	.000	−.037	.602	−.112^†	.070
Instagram Story	.076	.335	.143*	.045	−.017	.831	.011	.877
Instagram Live	−.029	.702	−.059	.399	.210**	.007	−.081	.236
Comment section	−.083	.299	−.118	.103	−.126	.116	−.023	.740
Standard single post	.088	.227	.124^†	.061	−.058	.429	.018	.782
ΔR² (%)	1.9%		8%***		2%		1.7%
Total ΔR² (%)	14.4%		29.6%		13.5%		32.9%

Note. Sample size = 402; Cell entries are final-entry ordinary least squares (OLS) standardized beta (β) coefficients.

†

p < .10. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Predicting Black Activism Orientation (H1–H5)

As presented in Table 1, the total variance in low-risk Black activism orientation explained by the regression model was 36.5%. Among the control variables, political ideology (β = .304, p < .001), political efficacy (β = .242, p < .001), and political discussion network heterogeneity (β = .214, p < .001) were positively associated with low-risk activism. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 6.7%, p < .001), perceived Instagram network diversity (β = .159, p < .001) and Instagram network authenticity (β = .122, p= .022) were positively associated with low-risk activism. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 3.0%, p < .01), the use of Instagram platform in general (β = .197, p = .001) was positively associated with low-risk activism, and Instagram Carousel (β = −.120, p = .046) was negatively associated with low-risk activism.

The total variance in high-risk Black activism orientation explained by the regression model was 25.4%. Among the control variables, political efficacy (β = .192, p< .001), political discussion network heterogeneity (β = .224, p < .001), and use of other social media for news (β = .116, p = .023) were positively associated with high-risk activism, while Age (β = −.248, p < .001) is negatively associated with high-risk activism. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 3.7%, p < .001), perceived Instagram network politicalness (β = .155, p = .011) and Instagram network authenticity (β = .122, p = .022) were positively associated with high-risk activism. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses, the uses of Instagram platform and features were not significant predictors.

The total variance in formal political Black activism orientation explained by the regression model was 27.5%. Among the control variables, political efficacy (β = .326, p < .001), political discussion network heterogeneity (β = .205, p < .001), and other social media uses for news (β = .136, p = .006) were positively associated with formal political activism. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 3.2%, p < .01), only Instagram network authenticity (β = .130, p = .019) was positively associated with formal political activism. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 2.4%, p < .05), the uses of Instagram platform in general (β = 2.793, p = .005) and Instagram comment section (β = −.166, p = .021) were negatively associated with formal political activism.

Predicting In-App Activism Engagement (RQ1)

As shown in Table 2, the total variance in in-app activism engagement explained by the regression model was 61.9%. Among the control variables, age (β = −.219, p < .001) was negatively associated with the in-app activism, while political efficacy (β = .190, p < .001), political discussion network heterogeneity (β = .467, p < .001), and other social media uses for news (β = .280, p < .001) were positively associated with in-app activism. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 5.7%, p < .001), only Instagram network politicalness (β = .258, p < .001) was positively associated with in-app activism. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 2.7%, p < .001), Instagram Carousel (β = .113, p = .015) was positively associated with in-app activism.

Predicting Black Racial Identity Ideology (H6–H10)

As seen in Table 3, the total variance in Black centrality explained by the regression model was 14.4%. Among the control variables, age (β = .104, p = .039), education (β = .107, p = .042), and political ideology (β = .217, p < .001) were positively associated with Black centrality. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 2.2%, p < .05), Instagram network politicalness, diversity, or authenticity were significant predictors of Black centrality. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 1.9%, p > .01), individuals’ use of Instagram Carousel (β = −.149, p = .033) was negatively associated with Black centrality.

The total variance in private regard explained by the regression model was 29.6%. Among the control variables, age (β = .149, p = .003), political ideology (β = .224, p < .001), and political efficacy (β = .198, p < .001) were positively associated with private regard, while Black women (β = .134, p = .007) were significantly more likely to have higher levels of private regard than Black men. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 6.4%, p < .001), Instagram network diversity (β = .218, p < .001) was positively associated with private regard. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 8%, p < .001), individuals’ use of Instagram platform in general (β = .212, p< .001) and Instagram story (β = .143, p = .045) were positively associated with private regard, while Instagram Carousel (β = −.303, p < .001) was a negative predictor.

The total variance in humanist ideology explained by the regression model was 13.5%. Among the control variables, age (β = .148, p = .004), political efficacy (β = .114, p =.027), and uses of other social media for news (β = .114, p = .027) were positively associated with humanist, while political ideology (β = −.170, p < .001) was a negative indicator. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 2.7%, p < .01), Instagram network authenticity (β = .139, p = .024) was positively associated with humanist. When it comes to Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 2%, p > .05), individuals’ use of Instagram Live (β = .210, p = .007) was positively associated with humanist.

The total variance in nationalist ideology explained by the regression model was 32.9%. Among the control variables, political ideology (β = .193, p < .001), political efficacy (β = .277, p < .001), and political discussion network heterogeneity (β = .222, p < .001) were positively associated with nationalist ideology. More importantly, in the aspect of perceived Individual Instagram environment characteristics (ΔR² = 8.2%, p < .001), Instagram network diversity (β = .131, p = .006) and authenticity (β = .196, p < .001) were positively associated with nationalist ideology. However, Instagram platform and feature uses (ΔR² = 1.7%, p > .05) were not significant indicators of nationalist ideology.

Discussion

Instagram has emerged to be one of the platforms driving the mobilization and information dissemination in recent BLM-centric political activism. Drawing from the theoretical considerations of the MAIN model, social media effects, Black activism orientation, and MMRI, the present study sheds light on how Black individuals’ Instagram use and perceived Instagram network environment characteristics influence their Black activism orientation, in-app activism engagement, and Black identity ideology. The findings make significant theoretical and empirical contributions. First, this study challenges the traditional research paradigm that only accentuates the effects of general social media use or one platform; it explores the impacts of specific in-platform features in relation to activism and identity. Second, through investigating racial minority members’ use of social media features and its impacts on their identity-specific activism and ideology, this research expands existing literature that narrowly focuses on social media’s effects on general audience’s generic political/civic participation. Recent social movements have evolved to be more specific and intersectional (e.g., #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackTransLivesMatter), which calls for quantitative scholarship on social media activism to explore activism contexts and outcomes that are more nuanced and critical.

Overall, the findings demonstrate the theoretical and practical necessity of distinguishing the effects of using a social media platform in general and the effects of using specific features on the platform, especially when studying the relationship between social media use and minority activism. These results align with the notion of the MAIN model which asserts that new technological mechanisms bring forth new affordances that might redirect the communication outcomes (Sundar, 2008). Within the context of this study, the findings support that Instagram platform use for information gathering in general contributes positively to Black activism orientation in the form of low-risk activism and formal political activism. More importantly, the use of specific features can influence Black people’s Black activism orientation in ways that are similar or opposite to overall platform use. Specifically, the more Black people use Instagram Carousel to get information about social issues, the less likely they are to engage in low-risk Black activism. One possible explanation is that the zine-like format of Instagram Carousel allows content creators to create and disseminate in-depth and visually persuasive knowledge about Black issues. After consuming content like this, Black people might be more likely to question the effectiveness of low-risk activism on making substantial changes for issues regarding their community. Thomas and Kureshi (2020) found that higher levels of awareness and knowledge could result in more skepticism. Black people who frequently utilize the comment section to get information are less likely to engage in formal political activism. One possible explanation is that individuals who use the comment section for information gathering on social issues trust or rely more on the online public opinions conveyed by peer audiences rather than the more formal information or facts delivered in the main Instagram posts when they evaluate these issues. People with this tendency might embody higher levels of anti-establishmentarianism, which might lead to resistance to partaking in formal political activism that is oftentimes gatekept by authorities. In addition, the comment section might facilitate people’s anti-authoritarianism tendency through making like-minded ideas salient and reaffirming their existing belief. Indeed, studies have shown that “user comment sections serve as echo chambers rather than as corrective mechanisms” (Walter et al., 2018, p. 204) and that people use comments as cues to determine whether they would consume the formal news content posts (Almoqbel et al., 2019).

The current findings also extend the theoretical implications of the MAIN model—new technological mechanisms generate new affordances—to new technologies’ effects on social minority members’ identity ideologies. The use of Instagram platform and features can also help reshape Black people’s racial identity ideology in different ways. Black people who frequently use the Instagram platform in general for information gathering on social issues are more likely to have high levels of positive private regard toward being Black. Also, using Instagram Live is positively associated with humanist ideology; that is, using Instagram Live might make Black people feel the universality, commonality, and connections that the Black community has with other social groups. One possible explanation for the findings on Instagram platform use and Instagram Live use is that minority communities on social media—such as #BlackTwitter, #BlackInstagram, or #BlackTikTok—can form counterpublics and/or counterdiscourses that challenge the status quo (Clark et al., 2017; Graham & Smith, 2016), which might construct a collective healing space for Black people that boosts in-group oriented collective self-esteem (Crocker & Luhtanen, 1990). Instagram Live’s real-time interactive nature might provide an elaborative and reiterative space/mechanism that allows such collaborative counterdiscourse forming and collective healing to develop meaningfully. Moreover, the more Black people use Instagram Story, the more likely they are to perceive the Black community positively. It could be that the Instagram Story content is usually perceived as more intimate and personal due to the 24-hr viewing restriction.

However, similar to the effects that Instagram Carousel use has on low-risk Black activism, the use of Instagram Carousel for information gathering is negatively associated with Black centrality and private regard. This could be that, while Instagram Carousel allows people to disseminate in-depth literacy about social issues, most slideshow contents are created with the communicative style and goal of educating and targeting White audiences and other non-Black social groups in mind. Research has shown that message framing, targeting, and delivery matter in political communication (Scheufele, 2000). Even though it is important to enlighten non-Black or non-minority people to be allies, content creators should be mindful about decentralizing the Black audience in the aspect of communicative style during content construction.

Echoing existing literature on social media effects, the perceived characteristics of one’s online network environment on a platform matter (Boulianne, 2019; Kim et al., 2013). How Black individuals perceive their Instagram social networks can influence their Black activism orientation. Specifically, perceived Instagram network authenticity has a positive influence across Black people’s tendencies to engage in low-risk, high-risk, and formal political activism. However, while perceived Instagram network diversity only positively affects low-risk activism orientation, perceived Instagram politicalness only influences high-risk activism orientation. This could be explained by the “bandwagon effect” which denotes the phenomenon that people join the position or take the perspective of where they perceive the majority or dominant groups stand (Schmitt-Beck, 1996). For Black people, following people from diverse backgrounds in their Instagram networks might mean there is a considerable amount of people from dominant social groups (e.g., White individuals). This might render Black people to intensely scrutinize the consequences of high-risk and formal activism, leading them to low-risk activism. On the contrary, perceiving one’s Instagram network to be more political might generate a “bandwagon effect” that prompts people to concern less about consequences and see high-risk activism as more acceptable.

Furthermore, Black people’s perceived characteristics of their Instagram network shape their Black racial identity ideology in the aspects of private regard, humanist ideology, and nationalist ideology. Specifically, perceived Instagram network diversity increases private regard and nationalist ideology, while perceived network authenticity prompts humanist ideology and nationalist ideology. This demonstrates that having a diverse and authentic network on Instagram not only improves Black individuals’ self-concepts related to Black uniqueness and attitudes toward being Black but also prompts them to see the commonality across social groups. This can be explained by the contact theory: contact improves attitudes, which might be optimized by “the feelings of trust” and authenticity (Tropp, 2008, p. 91). However, network politicalness is not a significant predictor for all four dimensions of Black racial ideology.

When it comes to in-app activism engagement, those who utilize Instagram Carousel frequently participate in in-app activism more often, while Black people’s Instagram use in general and their use of specific features are not significant predictors of in-app activism engagement. This is different from the pattern identified for Black activism orientation. It demonstrates that the contents generated through a certain feature—Instagram Carousel in this case—are more likely to be produced and disseminated within the app, which explain why social justice and activism posts in the format of Instagram Carousel are going viral (Ables, 2020; Guerrero, 2020). As predicted, Black people’s perceived politicalness of their own Instagram network is positively associated with their engagement in in-app activism.

Limitations and Future Research

This study has some limitations. The present research did not control for pre-existing political knowledge which is oftentimes a positive indicator for offline political participation (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012). However, existing measurements of political knowledge are generic and White-centric. Future research should develop and implement instruments that can sufficiently gauge political knowledge relevant to Black politics among Black people. Also, while the study sample mirrors the reality that there are more active female Instagram users, this sample attribute should be contextualized or addressed. Furthermore, this study was conducted against the specific backdrop of the civil unrest during a pandemic. Scholars should explore how a wide variety of sociopolitical issues might have contributed to the increase or decrease in activism activities among social media users at large.

It is critical to acknowledge that the intricacy of activism is not sufficiently addressed. Activism is multilayered. The Black activism orientation examined here did not capture Black people’s past offline activism behaviors which was found linked to social media use (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012; Kim et al., 2013). Scholars should consider developing multifaceted measurements to assess both actual and orientational dimensions of Black activism. Also, activism is ever-evolving. The two activism engagement scales applied in this study might not effectively assess the emerging forms of activism like digitally native activism. For example, hashtags like #FreeCeCe, #SayHerName, and #JadaCounterPose created digital connectivity to elevate subjugated Black women’s counterdiscourses in response to the mainstream media’s trivialization, silencing, and stereotyping; #ShareTheMicNow motivated non-Black women allies to acknowledge their privilege and amplify Black women so as to “catalyze change”; TikTok teens allegedly tanked Trump’s Tulsa rally in 2020 through claiming tickets without showing up; #BlackTikTokStrike protested unequal treatment in crediting Black creativity; a Twitter-based movement—Sleeping Giants—drives over 4,000 corporations to pull their advertising from the far-right outlet Breitbart (Williams, 2015). While these activism movements are digitally native, they are effective and far from slacktivism (Y. Li et al., 2021). Future research should systematically study minority digital native activism and their political outcomes.

When it comes to the complexity of Black activism, this study did not explore the nuances of Blackness across the African diaspora and backgrounds in their social media use and activism. Research should further tap into these differences because Black populations are diverse and extend beyond the descendants of enslaved people (Tamir, 2021). Moreover, Black people embody multiple identities in terms of ethnicity, sexuality, gender, sex, immigration status, ability, and so forth (Crenshaw, 1991; Tamir, 2021). Quantitative media studies should intersectionally factor in these identities and the unique lived experiences they carry to counter the dominant Eurocentric heteropatriarchal ideologies inherited in the research paradigms (Ramasubramanian & Banjo, 2020).

Finally, while this study finds that some racial identity ideologies vary depending on Black people’s Instagram use, these ideologies consist of complex traits/concepts that are not usually ephemeral or susceptible to being substantially influenced by social media use. Future research should take a longitudinal approach to examine whether the impacts of Instagram use on Black people’s racial ideologies are long-term, temporary, or period-specific. This is a particularly pivotal next step, given that the present study was implemented during a civil unrest in the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that might have heightened people’s sensibility to activism and social issues. Also, scholars should investigate how individuals’ social psychological predispositions like identity ideologies account for their digital media engagement as well as activism participation on Instagram or across media platforms.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Minjie Li

Author Biography

Minjie Li, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Tombras School of Advertising & Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His primary research interests stand at the intersection of multicultural advertising, prosocial strategic communication, activism, implicit bias, emerging technologies, and media diversity in relation to social change.

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