Managing peer relationships online – Investigating the use of Facebook by juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk
Abstract
While extensive research has been conducted on young people’s peer interaction via online communication, the focus has been on mainstream youths, with marginalized youth communities being understudied. To help address this inadequacy, the current study conducted interviews with Singaporean male juvenile delinquents (n = 36) to understand the role of online communication in their peer interactions and the salient characteristics of such interactions. Our findings show that Facebook was the principal tool of online peer interaction. However, given the particular circumstances of juvenile delinquents, online social networking presents issues that may compromise efforts to rehabilitate them. These include extending the time and opportunities for unstructured and unsupervised peer socialization, peer endorsement of delinquent acts and the pressure of having to display group loyalty in the online space. Even after rehabilitation, youths who attempt to distance themselves from their delinquent peers are challenged by the persistence of their online social networks.
... In other words, Neubaum (2021) offered an approach of cost appraisals to online political expression. By integrating social exchange theories (Kim, 2016;Stafford, 2014) and the extant scholarship on computer-mediated communication (e.g., Culnan & Markus, 1987;Lim et al., 2013;Postmes et al., 2002), the present study aims to extend Neubaum's work (2021) to other technological affordances and offer additional evidence on the role that individual appraisal of social risks plays in the relationship between technological affordances and political expression online. ...
... Network association indicates how much on-and offline networks overlap (Fox & Holt, 2018). For individuals perceiving high levels of network association, what they disclose online can have an impact on their life offline because their contacts can easily link their online expression with their real-life identity (Lim et al., 2013). Moreover, social contacts that are kept in one's on-and offline networks simultaneously are more relevant to their life. ...
... Our research shows that network association and anonymity did not affect most strategies of political expression on Quora directly but influenced them indirectly through expected social sanction. As a result of the link between on-and offline networks, individuals perceiving high levels of network association may be more concerned that their political expression online can be recognized by their offline contacts and thereby affect their real life (Lim et al., 2013). Thus, network association can heighten individuals' perceived risks of disclosing political opinion online, and consequently drives them to employ more strategies in online political expression. ...
Drawing upon social exchange theories, the present study examines how technological affordances predicted individuals’ expectation for social sanction, and how their social motivation moderated the relationship between expected social sanction and their usage of political expression strategies. Results of an online survey of Quora users (N = 420) show that network association and anonymity predicted expected social sanction positively, which motivated individuals to use four strategies to express their political opinion strategically: self-censorship, adjusting expression, access control, and faking. Furthermore, these mediations except access control were consistently stronger when individuals exhibited higher levels of social motivation. This study provides additional evidence on the risk-appraisal approach to understanding political expression online and suggests that user motivation may play an important role in their political expression.
... There is no denying that phone use does pose a risk to girls. Girls in digital forums face an increase in harrassment (Hutchings and Chua 2016), and increased access to negative peer influence online has also been identified as a threat to young people's rehabilitation (Lim et al. 2013a(Lim et al. , 2013b. However, phones also provide an opportunity for personal empowerment. ...
... Studies of adolescents have demonstrated that the constant connection that phones offer is crucial to social bonding, building intimacy, emotional expression, building self-esteem, and self-care (Boase and Kobayashi 2008;Wilson 2016). Studies with JJS-involved youth have provided comparable findings, with digital access forming an important part of young people's identities, friendships (Lim et al. 2013b), and social support networks (Barn and Tan 2012). Less is known about the effects of removing digital access from young people. ...
... Phones store girls' histories and tether them to their friends, families, and broader communities. Like young people in and outside the JJS, being disconnected from their digital ecology risks weakening the important support system that phones facilitate (Barn and Tan 2012;Boase and Kobayashi 2008;Lim et al. 2013aLim et al. , 2013b. This study demonstrates that text-based communication is incredibly meaningful between supportive friends and helps build self-esteem through enhanced self-expression and positive relationships (Boase and Kobayashi 2008;Gonzales 2014;Wilson 2016;Zilka 2020). ...
Girls in the juvenile justice system routinely have their cell phones and internet access removed as a part of court orders. Building on feminist criminology and ecological systems theory, this paper will demonstrate that phone removal causes a rupture of girls’ digital ecology. This rupture exacerbates strains conducive to crime and victimization. Findings are generated from an ethnographic study that took place in a Northeastern United States city. Forty-two girls took part in focus groups and a series of interviews, and 22 practitioners took part in semi-structured interviews. This research shows that phones act as a positive and protective force supporting girls through feelings of safety, helping them cope with challenging events at home and on the street. Understanding the phone as a part of a broader ecology contextualizes why girls would subsequently commit crimes to restore their digital ecology.
... Literature covering research on media community-based projects and delinquency -or even media use from an audience perspective -is rare but required if we aim to comprehend better the institutionalised youths' needs (Carvalho & Serrão, 2014;Lim, Basnyat, Vadrevu, & Chan, 2013a;Lim, Chan, Vadrevu, & Basnyat, 2013b;Lim et al., 2012). Some point to positive digital impacts on institutionalised youth's well-being. ...
... Some point to positive digital impacts on institutionalised youth's well-being. Others find a correlation between media and at-risk and juvenile delinquent practices (Lim et al., 2013b). The majority point to youth and media representations via foster care, delinquency, and crime in the media -specifically in the news media (Riggs, King, Delfabbro, & Augoustinos, 2009) and how particular types of media influence children and youth (Bleakley et al., 2020) negatively. ...
Institutionalised youths who are digitally disconnected while long-standing in detention centres (in Portugal, these are called educational centres) face constraints to their digital rights. Given that most youths already come from deprived contexts, their present and future lives are deeply challenged. This article explores data collected in the participatory project DiCi-Educa, based on institutionalised youths’ digital media production and critical thinking, regarding issues such as digital citizenship, participation, and otherness. Using a participatory action research (PAR) methodology, they were stimulated to widen their views of the world and reflect on their digital rights and acts of participation using digital media. Institutionalised youths’ understandings before the project were centred on the use of social media, video games, illegal downloads, and hacking. Thus, during the project, they were challenged to debate participatory acts using the internet and digital media as tools for social change. The results point to these tools as relevant opportunities to the disconnected settings of the ECs. We recommend the need to tackle critical methods for thinking the digital realm as a path to building critical skills with these youths. Widening their views of the world can stimulate their well-being and contribute to avoiding risky behaviours.
... Although it looks democratic, the virtual world suffers from violence and gender inequality, similar to the offline world (5). Some acts that fall under cyber violence include harassment, invasion of privacy, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and online threats (6,7). Genderbased violence (GBV) is experienced by many women and girls online (8)(9)(10). ...
Background: The Internet, especially social media, is also at risk of being misused and triggering violence against humans. Gender-based violence (GBV) facilitated by new technologies is a phenomenon that increasingly affects the privacy and safety of women and girls in and out of cyberspace. This study aimed to describe the physical, mental, social, cultural, and economic impacts of gender-based violence of cyber. Methods: This study used a descriptive survey. The population of this study was adolescents in the East Java region; the sample size was 480 adolescents selected using a purposive sampling technique, with the following criteria: adolescents aged 12-25 years and willing to be respondents.
... For example, several studies found that youth who sought help online were more likely to use the internet for suicide-related purposes [38] and experience social anxiety, psychological distress, self-harm behaviors, and suicide [39,40], while other studies reported that online communication might provide social and emotional support, which could facilitate ones' coping with depression and stress [41][42][43]. In general, as a large number of studies have indicated, seeking help from peers and friends in real life is preferred by the young population, compared with formal help sources (ie, professionals) and unfamiliar people online [5,[44][45][46]. Adolescents at lower risk of suicide and mental health problems are more likely to engage in offline help seeking from peers and friends [43,47]. ...
Background: Social networking sites (SNSs) have gained popularity in recent years for help seeking and self-distress expression among adolescents. Although online suicidal expression is believed to have major benefits, various concerns have also been raised, particularly around privacy issues. Understanding youths’ help-seeking behavior on SNSs is critical for effective suicide prevention; however, most research neglects the impacts of the private SNS context.
Objective: This study aims to examine youths’ private SNS use via the new Instagram feature, Close Friends, and its association with both online and offline help-seeking willingness as well as youths’ suicidality.
Methods: This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach with a combination of explorative qualitative interviews and a systematic quantitative survey, targeting youth aged 15-19 years in Hong Kong. The motivations for utilizing Close Friends and concerns regarding online expression were addressed in the focus group and individual interviews (n=40). A cross-sectional survey (n=1676) was conducted subsequently with eligible secondary school students to examine the prevalence of Close Friends usage, their online and offline help-seeking willingness, and suicide-related experiences.
Results: A total of 3 primary motives for using Close Friends were identified during interviews, including (1) interaction and help seeking, (2) release of negative emotions, and (3) ventilation and self-expression. Most participants also highlighted the privacy concerns associated with public online communication and the importance of contacting close friends for emotional support. Survey results showed that use of Close Friends was quite prevalent among adolescents (1163/1646, 70.66%), with around 46% (754/1646, 45.81%) of respondents being frequent users. Differences by gender and school academic banding were also revealed. Regarding help-seeking intentions, youths were generally positive about seeking help from peers and friends offline (1010/1266, 79.78%) yet negative about seeking assistance from online friends or professionals with whom they had not yet developed a real-world connection (173/1266, 13.67%). Most notably, frequencies of Close Friends usage were differentially associated with online and offline help-seeking willingness and youths’ suicidality. Compared with nonusers, those who had ever used the feature were more likely to seek offline support (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] 1.82-2.36), whereas heavy use of Close Friends was associated with increased odds of online help-seeking willingness (AOR 1.76, 95% CI 1.06-2.93) and a higher risk of suicidality (AOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.01-2.31).
Conclusions: The popularity of Close Friends reflects the increasing need for private online expression among youth. This study demonstrates the importance of Close Friends for self-expression and private conversation and inadequacy of peer support for suicidal adolescents. Further research is needed to identify the causal relationship between Close Friends usage and help-seeking willingness to guide the advancement of suicide prevention strategies. Researchers and social media platforms may cooperate to co-design a risk monitoring system tailored to the private SNS context, assisting professionals in identifying youth at risk of suicide.
... hrough advices, by giving inspirations to continue their struggle to make themselves thinner through these online communities (Antheunis et al., 2014). Moreover, they feel if they are part of a particular larger community, there is a lot of possibility for more people they can seek for suggestions and talk about their personal issues. Furthermore, Lim. et al., (2013) explores that adolescents like to express their feelings through Facebook rather than face-to-face interaction. As far as online participation in online social platforms is concerned, girls are found to be more dominating on the blogs and social network as compared to boys (Madden & Zickuhr, 2011). Relatively, this assumption is support ...
Online communication has already replaced the traditional means of communications as it offers a great platform for boys and girls to have discussions on various topics including health issues. The objectives of the study were to examine the peer-to-peer online communication about the healthy lifestyle of Pakistani teenage girls. The study was qualitative in nature, which investigates experiences and reasons for using online tools by Pakistani teenage girls for discussing healthy lifestyles. For this purpose, (10) semi-structured interviews of Pakistani teenage girls were conducted. The results revealed that physical and mental health is positively affected by sharing experiences with online peers. Obtaining information, getting emotional support, sharing, and exchanging personal health problems and issues using online communication proved to be beneficial for teenage Pakistani girls. However, evaluation of positive results of online peer to peer communication on health-related topics is still attainable. One of the reasons for Pakistani teenage girls to seek a healthy lifestyle online is cultural barriers, expensive medical treatments, not consulting nutritionists, and unavailability of medical centers in Pakistan. Having a greater amount of discussion with the peer’s online, emotional support, trust, self-esteem extensively related to Pakistani girl’s perception. A positive environment and eminence of social and emotional support through online groups can yield good results on the health of an individual. Keyword: Online Communication, Health, Teen Age Girls, Pakistan, Mental Health
... Staying out of this opportunity implies the strengthening of a continuous divide between those who have opportunities to surf online and those who live on the fringes of various exclusions, including the media and digital environments (Carvalho & Serrão, 2014;Livingstone & Helsper, 2007). Research on young people institutionalized and the use of media and how digital life can promote their well-being is scarce (Carvalho & Serrão, 2014;Lim et al., 2013). ...
Information provision and services in prisons have been demonstrated to be a critical component of successful rehabilitation and reintegration. The study therefore examined the information behaviour of inmates in Ghana prisons with the aim of understanding their information needs, sources and challenges towards improving the information provision and services available in Ghana prisons. In all, qualitative data were collected from 27 participants comprising 19 inmates and eight Correctional Officers from four prisons in Ghana: Ankaful Maximum Security, Nsawam Medium Security, Kumasi Central and Nsawam Female prisons. The study found that inmates had information needs related to welfare, legal, support among others and it was evident that a number of their information needs were not met. The study further revealed poor library systems in Ghana prisons and inmates’ inability to access modern ICT tools as some of the challenges in accessing information in Ghana prisons. The study recommends the need for stakeholders and policy makers to invest in information provisions and services in Ghana prisons.
The paper presents the results of an online survey carried out by five Italian Universities to investigate the cyber violence phenomenon between young people aged between 19 and 25 (2365 valid questionnaires). The web transforms social relationships because it moves them out of the ‘real’ context and places them in an undefined space–time dimension where, the identity dimension does not pass only through being passive users but active builders of content and relationships. The web is not without risks, including the well-known phenomenon of cyberviolence. The data collected allow us to focus on formal and informal networks (ref. family and school) that young people activate between real and virtual life to cope with the risks and problems arising from the phenomena of cyberviolence. Within the analysis we adopted a gender approach useful to emphasize the different forms of violence that can be characterized by male and female points of view. In the conclusions we also focus on interventions that can be put in place to address this problem by imagining the characteristics of an alliance between institutions (family and school) that could represent a safety network for boys and girls starting from the awareness of the risks that the network can offer.
The purpose of this study is to reveal the dark side the Internet and establish a hierarchical framework to provide its governance path based on users' negative psychology. However, this hierarchical framework must consider unnecessary attributes and the interrelationships between the aspects and the criteria. Hence, fuzzy set theory is used for screening out the unnecessary attributes, a decision-making and trial evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is proposed to manage the complex interrelationships among the aspects and attributes, and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to divide the hierarchy and construct a hierarchical theoretical framework. The results show that: (1) the institutional system is the driver of Internet governance improvement (2) personal values are the last link in the governance process (3) the governance transition from institutional system to values must cross the barriers of ethics and technology. This paper proposes a more systematic and integrated hierarchical framework which provides theoretical guidance to govern the dark side of the Internet.
An examination of young people's everyday new media practices—including video-game playing, text-messaging, digital media production, and social media use.
Conventional wisdom about young people's use of digital technology often equates generational identity with technology identity: today's teens seem constantly plugged in to video games, social networking sites, and text messaging. Yet there is little actual research that investigates the intricate dynamics of youths' social and recreational use of digital media. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out fills this gap, reporting on an ambitious three-year ethnographic investigation into how young people are living and learning with new media in varied settings—at home, in after-school programs, and in online spaces.
Integrating twenty-three case studies—which include Harry Potter podcasting, video-game playing, music sharing, and online romantic breakups—in a unique collaborative authorship style, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out is distinctive for its combination of in-depth description of specific group dynamics with conceptual analysis.
This study assesses whether Facebook users have different ‘connection strategies,’ a term which describes a suite of Facebook-related relational communication activities, and explores the relationship between these connection strategies and social capital. Survey data (N = 450) from a random sample of undergraduate students reveal that only social information-seeking behaviors contribute to perceptions of social capital; connection strategies that focus on strangers or close friends do not. We also find that reporting more ‘actual’ friends on the site is predictive of social capital, but only to a point. We believe the explanation for these findings may be that the identity information in Facebook serves as a social lubricant, encouraging individuals to convert latent to weak ties and enabling them to broadcast requests for support or information.
All students today are increasingly expected to develop technological fluency, digital citizenship, and other twenty‐first century competencies despite wide variability in the quality of learning opportunities schools provide. Social network sites (SNSs) available via the internet may provide promising contexts for learning to supplement school‐based experiences. This qualitative study examines how high school students from low‐income families in the USA use the SNS, MySpace, for identity formation and informal learning. The analysis revealed that SNSs used outside of school allowed students to formulate and explore various dimensions of their identity and demonstrate twenty‐first century skills; however, students did not perceive a connection between their online activities and learning in classrooms. We discuss how learning with such technologies might be incorporated into the students’ overall learning ecology to reduce educational inequities and how current institutionalized approaches might shift to accommodate such change.
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What is the social condition of youth in modern society? This is the question taken up by this passionate and substantive book. The author argues that youth are at a crisis state. The crisis has been brought about by the general state of social crisis; violence, questions of political legitimacy, educational decline; as well as the decline of compassion as a core principle of culture. The author draws on a variety of trends and scholarly research to examine the problems of growing up in a high risk society and offers pathways to spiritual renewal and cultural renewal, esential for salvaging the next generation. The study takes on the youth crisis as a compelling public issue, exploring various manifestations of the crisis; endangered youth, gang participation, youth addictions, unworkable schools, violence in the home and on the streets, homelessness, and the near genocidal conditions that plague African American and urban youth. Students, educators, and policy makers, as well as anyone interested in the plight of youth and the steps necessary to successfully overcome the crisis will find this book invaluable and memorable.
A social learning theory of deviant behavior (Akers, 1985) is used to identify the process through which fraternity membership may be correlated with sexual aggression. Fraternity members are significantly more likely than "independents" to engage in nonphysical coercion and to use drugs and alcohol as a sexual strategy but do not differ significantly in their use of physical coercion. When the social learning variables are controlled fraternity membership has no significant effect on sexual coercion and aggression.
With his theory of differential association, Sutherland attempted to identify universal mechanisms that explain the genesis of crime regardless of the specific concrete structural, social, and individual conditions involved. In this article, I discuss the development of the theory and then assess its strengths and weaknesses. After finding Kornhauser's (1978) influential critique of differential association theory to be oversimplified and misguided, I review recent empirical tests. I argue that the theory appears supported, but requires additional research to specify the concrete content of its abstract principles. Such respecification will improve the theory's predictions, empirical tests, and implications for public policy. I conclude by proposing several avenues for theoretical and empirical research.