Brendesha Marie Tynes is an American psychologist who is a professor of Psychology and Education at the USC Rossier School of Education. Her research considers how young people engage with social media, and how this influences their socioeconomic and academic outcomes. Tynes is principal investigator on the Teen Life Online and in Schools Project, which studies race-related cyberbullying.
Tynes studies youth engagement with social media, and how this impacts their academic outcomes.[4] She was the first to identify that adolescents of color were most likely to suffer from online victimization.[5] This victimization can result in increased depressive tendencies and decreased academic motivation.[5] Working with the National Institutes of Health, Tynes studied race-related cyberbullying.[5] Through the development of a risk and resilience framework, Tynes has shown that whilst online interactions can threaten the social identify of adolescents, there are strategies to mitigate this.[1][6]
Based on her research, Tynes developed a mobile-driven application that helps young people cope with online racial discrimination.[7] The application was evaluated using a randomized control trial. Tynes was the founder of the Digital Equity Project, an investigation into the use of mobile devices in K–12 schools. She showed that the regular exposure to traumatic incidents that involved people of color online can result in poor mental health outcomes.[8]
Subrahmanyam, Kaveri; Greenfield, Patricia M.; Tynes, Brendesha (2004-11-01). "Constructing sexuality and identity in an online teen chat room". Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology. Developing Children, Developing Media - Research from Television to the Internet from the Children's Digital Media Center: A Special Issue Dedicated to the Memory of Rodney R. Cocking. 25 (6): 651–666. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2004.09.007. ISSN0193-3973.
Tynes, B. M., Rose, C., & Markoe, S. (2013). Extending campus life to the internet: Social media, discrimination and perceptions of racial climate. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Tynes, B. M. & Mitchell, K. (2013). Black youth beyond the digital divide: Age and gender differences in internet use, communication patterns and victimization experiences. Journal of Black Psychology.
Tynes, B. M., Hiss, S., Rose, C., Umaña -Taylor, A., Mitchell, K. & Williams, D. (2014). Internet use, online racial discrimination, and adjustment among a diverse, school- based sample of adolescents. International Journal of Gaming & Computer Mediated Simulations, 6 (3), 1–16.
Michikyan, M., Lozada, F., Weidenbenner, J.V.& Tynes, B. M. (2014). Adolescent coping strategies in the face of their “worst online experience”. International Journal of Gaming & Computer Mediated Simulations, 6(4), 1–16.
Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Tynes, B. M., Toomey, R. B., Williams, D., & Mitchell, K. (2015). Latino adolescents’ perceived discrimination in online and off-line settings: An examination of cultural risk and protective factors. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 87–100.
Rose, C. A. & Tynes, B. M. (2015). Longitudinal associations between cybervictimization and mental health among US adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health.
Tynes, B. M., Del Toro, J., & Lozada, F. (2015). An unwelcomed digital visitor in the classroom: The longitudinal impact of online racial discrimination on school achievement motivation. School Psychology Review, 44(4), 407–424.
Tynes, B.M. & Lozada, F. (2017). Longitudinal effects of online experiences on empathy among African American adolescents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 52, 181–190.
