IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v11y2022i6p240-d828221.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Discourse, Difference, and Divergence: Exploring Media Representations and Online Public Sentiments toward Marginalized Urban Communities in Jamaica during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Aleem Mahabir

    (Department of Geography and Geology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica)

  • Romario Anderson

    (Department of Geography and Geology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica)

  • Robert Kinlocke

    (Department of Geography and Geology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica)

  • Rose-Ann Smith

    (Department of Geography and Geology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica)

  • Kristinia Doughorty

    (Department of Geography and Geology, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica)

  • Chandradath Madho

    (Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica)

Abstract

Despite lacking the resources to adequately adhere to public health protocols, urban residents belonging to impoverished communities in Kingston, Jamaica were prominently featured in local news reports that highlighted their breaches of social distancing. These reports generated an overwhelmingly prejudiced online social discourse, characterized by derogatory and dehumanizing remarks. This research aims to explore the ways media representations of calls for social distancing have unearthed latent social cleavages and contributed to the othering of Kingston’s poor. A thematic analysis was used to understand the nature of the public response to these news reports. The comments were manually coded, and emergent themes were classified based on the sentiments expressed. The comments generated evoked class, place, race, and political tensions, potentially perpetuating the public perception of vulnerable groups as the ‘threatening other’. These comments possibly represent deeper problems associated with the social divergence of Jamaican society. The lack of sensitivity exhibited shows a general disregard for the stark social realities commonly experienced by subaltern groups. These findings suggest media coverage promoting public safety, while important, may inadvertently lead to heightened social tensions and perpetuate social stigmas against marginalized groups, potentially stirring social divergence and countering efforts toward inclusiveness and integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Aleem Mahabir & Romario Anderson & Robert Kinlocke & Rose-Ann Smith & Kristinia Doughorty & Chandradath Madho, 2022. "Discourse, Difference, and Divergence: Exploring Media Representations and Online Public Sentiments toward Marginalized Urban Communities in Jamaica during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:6:p:240-:d:828221
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/6/240/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/6/240/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dionne, Kim Yi & Turkmen, Fulya Felicity, 2020. "The Politics of Pandemic Othering: Putting COVID-19 in Global and Historical Context," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 74(S1), pages 213-230, December.
    2. Nekeisha Spencer & Mikhail-Ann Urquhart & Patrice Whitely, 2020. "Class Discrimination? Evidence from Jamaica: A Racially Homogeneous Labor Market," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(1), pages 77-95, March.
    3. Sneha Gautam & Luc Hens, 2020. "COVID-19: impact by and on the environment, health and economy," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 4953-4954, August.
    4. Zierler, S. & Cunningham, W.E. & Andersen, R. & Shapiro, M.F. & Bozzette, S.A. & Nakazono, T. & Morton, S. & Crystal, S. & Stein, M. & Turner, B. & St. Clair, P., 2000. "Violence victimization after HIV infection in a US probability sample of adult patients in primary care," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 90(2), pages 208-215.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ubaid Illahi & Mohammad Shafi Mir, 2021. "Maintaining efficient logistics and supply chain management operations during and after coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: learning from the past experiences," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11157-11178, August.
    2. Goshu Desalegn & Anita Tangl & Maria Fekete-Farkas, 2022. "From Short-Term Risk to Long-Term Strategic Challenges: Reviewing the Consequences of Geopolitics and COVID-19 on Economic Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Nan Li & Muzi Chen & Difang Huang, 2022. "How Do Logistics Disruptions Affect Rural Households? Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Siddharth Shankar Rai & Shivam Rai & Nitin Kumar Singh, 2021. "Organizational resilience and social-economic sustainability: COVID-19 perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 12006-12023, August.
    5. Shiyi Zhang & Panayiota Tsatsou & Lauren McLaren & Yimei Zhu, 2024. "Comparing location-specific and location-open social media data: methodological lessons from a study of blaming of minorities on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 2457-2479, December.
    6. Elena Andriollo & Alberto Caimo & Laura Secco & Elena Pisani, 2021. "Collaborations in Environmental Initiatives for an Effective “Adaptive Governance” of Social–Ecological Systems: What Existing Literature Suggests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-29, July.
    7. Alam, Gazi Mahabubul, 2021. "Does online technology provide sustainable HE or aggravate diploma disease? Evidence from Bangladesh—a comparison of conditions before and during COVID-19," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    8. Yoo, Nari & Jang, Sou Hyun, 2024. "Does social empathy moderate fear-induced minority blaming during the COVID-19 pandemic?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 346(C).
    9. Simin Zou & Xuhui He, 2021. "Effect of Train-Induced Wind on the Transmission of COVID-19: A New Insight into Potential Infectious Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-17, August.
    10. Amit Awasthi & Aditi Sharma & Prabhjot Kaur & Balakrishnaiah Gugamsetty & Akshay Kumar, 2021. "Statistical interpretation of environmental influencing parameters on COVID-19 during the lockdown in Delhi, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 8147-8160, June.
    11. Lonnie R. Snowden & Jonathan M. Snowden, 2021. "Coronavirus Trauma and African Americans’ Mental Health: Seizing Opportunities for Transformational Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-10, March.
    12. Yohannes Biru Aemro & Pedro Moura & Aníbal T. Almeida, 2023. "Energy access during and post-COVID-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan countries: the case of Ethiopia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1236-1257, February.
    13. Rosse Marie Esparza-Huamanchumo & Rosa Jeuna Diaz-Manchay & Maribel Albertina Díaz-Vásquez, 2023. "Virtual Educational Intervention of Craftswomen Working with Native Peruvian Cotton during COVID-19 for Reactivating the Artisian Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-13, March.
    14. Libertad Moreno-Luna & Rafael Robina-Ramírez & Marcelo Sánchez-Oro Sánchez & José Castro-Serrano, 2021. "Tourism and Sustainability in Times of COVID-19: The Case of Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-21, February.
    15. Pilhyoun Yoon & Juhee Hahn, 2021. "Contradictory Aspects of Job Searching in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Relationships between Perceived Socioeconomic Constraints, Work Volition, and the Meaning of Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Meisam Ranjbari & Zahra Shams Esfandabadi & Simone Domenico Scagnelli & Peer-Olaf Siebers & Francesco Quatraro, 2021. "Recovery agenda for sustainable development post COVID-19 at the country level: developing a fuzzy action priority surface," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 16646-16673, November.
    17. Dušan Ristić & Dušan Marinković, 2022. "Biopolitics of othering during the COVID-19 pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.
    18. Bo Zhou & Lei Jiang, 2022. "Unsustainable Urban Development Based on Temporary Workers: A Study on the Changes of Immigration in Macau between 1992 and 2019," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, November.
    19. Muddassar Sarfraz & Muhammad Mohsin & Sobia Naseem & Amit Kumar, 2021. "Modeling the relationship between carbon emissions and environmental sustainability during COVID-19: a new evidence from asymmetric ARDL cointegration approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 16208-16226, November.
    20. Carol Nash, 2021. "Challenges to Learners in Interpreting Self as Other, Post COVID-19," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-24, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:6:p:240-:d:828221. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.