Objective:

To determine whether rates of online racial discrimination changed over the course of 2020 and their longitudinal effects on Black youth’s mental health.

Method:

This longitudinal study collected 18,454 daily assessments from a nationally representative sample of 602 Black and White adolescents in the United States (58% Black, 42% White; M_age = 15.09, SD_age = 1.56) across 58 days during the heightened racial tensions between March and November 2020.

Results:

Black youth experienced increases in online racial discrimination, and these increases were not fully explained by time spent online nor general cybervictimization experiences. Online racial discrimination predicted poorer same- and next-day mental health among Black youth but not among White youth. Black youth’s mental health did not predict their online racial discrimination experiences.

Conclusion:

Online racial discrimination has implications for shaping mental health disparities that disadvantage Black youth relative to their White peers. Programs can be implemented to decrease online hate crimes, and health providers (e.g., pediatricians, psychiatrists) should develop procedures that mitigate the negative mental health effects following online racial discrimination experiences.