When social media memes become mean to peers: Discrimination recognition and group norms in adolescent bullying

Rongyi Chen; Qing Xiao; Shike Lin; Jingjia Xiao; Menghan Yin; Yucong Ma; Bingbing Zhang; Hua Zhong

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2026.109126

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When social media memes become mean to peers: Discrimination recognition and group norms in adolescent bullying

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When social media memes become mean to peers: Discrimination recognition and group norms in adolescent bullying

Rongyi Chen, Qing Xiao, Shike Lin, Jingjia Xiao, Menghan Yin, Yucong Ma, Bingbing Zhang and Hua Zhong

Computers in human behavior, Vol.186, 109126

01/2027

DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2026.109126

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Abstract

The widespread circulation of harmful memes on social media is increasingly recognized as a contributor to adolescent aggression, yet the mechanisms linking meme engagement to bullying behavior remain underexplored. Drawing on a neo-ecological framework that distinguishes physical and virtual microsystems, this study surveyed 1319 Chinese middle school students to examine how harmful meme culture is transmitted within adolescent communities and translated into bullying. Using structural equation modeling, we identified adolescents’ difficulty in recognizing discrimination as a key cognitive mediator linking harmful meme usage to bullying behavior. Peer-group subjective norms emerged as the strongest factor in cultural transmission, while parental opposition and restricted media access appeared insufficient and showed no protective association. This challenges the traditional focus on parental supervision and media use, highlighting the prominent role of harmful meme culture within adolescent peer groups. These findings reframe adolescent bullying as a culturally mediated phenomenon shaped by peer normalization processes and sustained by the gradual erosion of critical perceptual capacity, with important implications for the design of educational, parental, and platform-level interventions. •Harmful meme exposure reduces adolescents' discrimination recognition ability.•Peer group norms shape meme culture acculturation while social media use drives meme adoption.•Parental opposition is weakly associated with rather than protective against harmful meme use.•Reduced discrimination recognition mediates meme use and bullying behavior.•SEM of 1319 students links meme culture to offline adolescent bullying.

Adolescent bullying

Desensitization

Discrimination recognition ability

Group subjective norm

Harmful memes

Details

Title: Subtitle: When social media memes become mean to peers: Discrimination recognition and group norms in adolescent bullying
Creators: Rongyi Chen - Peking University
Qing Xiao - University of San Diego
Shike Lin - Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jingjia Xiao - University of California San Diego
Menghan Yin - Austin College
Yucong Ma - Austin College
Bingbing Zhang - University of Iowa
Hua Zhong - Chinese University of Hong Kong
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Computers in human behavior, Vol.186, 109126
DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2026.109126
ISSN: 0747-5632
eISSN: 1873-7692
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 07/15/2026
Date published: 01/2027
Academic Unit: Center for Social Science Innovation; School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Record Identifier: 9985183639902771

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