Internet and Social Media Use as a Resource Among Homeless Youth

Little is known about internet and social media use among homeless youth. Consistent with typologies prevalent among housed youth, we found that homeless youth were using internet and social media for entertainment, sociability, and instrumental purposes. Using Haythornwaite's (2001) premise that it is important to look at the types of ties accessed in understanding the impact of new media, we found that homeless youth were predominantly using e-mail to reach out to their parents, caseworkers, and potential employers, while, using social media to communicate with their peers. Using the "Social Capital" perspective, we found that youth who were connecting to maintained or bridging social ties were more likely to look for jobs and housing online than youth who did not.

[1]  Robert D. Putnam,et al.  Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community , 2000, CSCW '00.

[2]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[3]  David J. Atkin,et al.  Communication Technology and Society: Audience Adoption and Uses , 2002 .

[4]  N. Milburn,et al.  Pro-social and problematic social network influences on HIV/AIDS risk behaviours among newly homeless youth in Los Angeles , 2007, AIDS care.

[5]  Rafael Wittek,et al.  Structural Holes , 2014, Encyclopedia of Social Network Analysis and Mining.

[6]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[7]  E. Rice.  The Positive Role of Social Networks and Social Networking Technology in the Condom-Using Behaviors of Homeless Young People , 2010, Public health reports.

[8]  Lee Ann,et al.  Nowhere to Grow: Homeless and Runaway Adolescents and Their Families , 2001 .

[9]  S. Matei,et al.  Belonging in Geographic, Ethnic, and Internet Spaces , 2008 .

[10]  Melissa Wells,et al.  How Do High-Risk Youth Use the Internet? Characteristics and Implications for Prevention , 2008, Child maltreatment.

[11]  A. Rubin,et al.  Predictors of Internet Use , 2000 .

[12]  Karin M. Eyrich-Garg,et al.  Sheltered in cyberspace? Computer use among the unsheltered 'street' homeless , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[13]  Joshua C. Magee,et al.  Sexual Health Information Seeking Online , 2012, Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education.

[14]  Aaron Smith,et al.  Social Media & Mobile Internet Use among Teens and Young Adults. Millennials. , 2010 .

[15]  L. Whitbeck,et al.  Self-Mutilation and Homeless Youth: The Role of Family Abuse, Street Experiences, and Mental Disorders , 2003 .

[16]  J. Wolak,et al.  Trends in youth reports of sexual solicitations, harassment and unwanted exposure to pornography on the Internet. , 2007, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[17]  S. Ennett,et al.  Prevalence and correlates of survival sex among runaway and homeless youth. , 1999, American journal of public health.

[18]  Eric Rice,et al.  Sexual Health Information Seeking Online Among Runaway and Homeless Youth , 2011, Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.

[19]  Y Zhang,et al.  Severe aggression and related conduct problems among runaway and homeless adolescents. , 1996, Psychiatric services.

[20]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? , 1998, The American psychologist.

[21]  Stephanie M. Reich,et al.  Online and Offline Social Networks: Use of Social Networking Sites by Emerging Adults , 2008 .

[22]  N. Lin.  Buidling a Network Theory of Social Capital , 1999, Connections.

[23]  Douglas A. Ferguson,et al.  The World Wide Web as a Functional Alternative to Television , 2000 .

[24]  Kerstin E. E. Schroder,et al.  Methodological challenges in research on sexual risk behavior: II. Accuracy of self-reports , 2003, Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

[25]  Randal D. Pinkett,et al.  Narrowing the digital divide: the potential and limits of the US community technology movement , 2004 .

[26]  Caroline Haythornthwaite,et al.  Strong, Weak, and Latent Ties and the Impact of New Media , 2002, Inf. Soc..

[27]  P. Bourdieu.  The field of cultural production, or: The economic world reversed☆ , 1983 .

[28]  B. Wellman,et al.  The Internet in everyday life , 2002 .

[29]  Blythe Suezann Harrell,et al.  Uses and gratifications of the internet , 2000 .

[30]  Brendesha M. Tynes,et al.  Constructing Sexuality and Identity in an Online Teen Chat Room. , 2004 .

[31]  Eric Rice,et al.  Countervailing social network influences on problem behaviors among homeless youth. , 2008, Journal of adolescence.

[32]  M. Maczewski.  Exploring Identities Through the Internet: Youth Experiences Online , 2002 .

[33]  Barry Wellman,et al.  Network Capital in a Multi-level World: Getting Support in Personal Communities , 2001 .

[34]  Michele L. Ybarra,et al.  Current trends in internet-and cell phone-based HIV prevention and intervention programs , 2007, Current HIV/AIDS reports.

[35]  Yan Bing Zhang,et al.  Social Interactions Across Media , 2004 .

[36]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory , 1994 .

[37]  J. Slevin.  Internet and Society , 2000 .

[38]  Eric Rice,et al.  Online Social Networking Technologies, HIV Knowledge, and Sexual Risk and Testing Behaviors Among Homeless Youth , 2010, AIDS and Behavior.

[39]  David A. Moskowitz,et al.  PowerON: the use of instant message counseling and the Internet to facilitate HIV/STD education and prevention. , 2009, Patient education and counseling.

[40]  Eric Rice,et al.  Adolescents Exiting Homelessness Over Two Years: The Risk Amplification and Abatement Model. , 2009, Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence.

[41]  Eric Rice,et al.  Internet use, social networking, and HIV/AIDS risk for homeless adolescents. , 2010, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[42]  Eric Rice,et al.  Newly homeless youth typically return home. , 2007, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[43]  Eric Rice,et al.  Cross-National Variations in Behavioral Profiles Among Homeless Youth , 2006, American journal of community psychology.

[44]  Keith N. Hampton,et al.  Capitalizing on the Net: Social Contact, Civic Engagement, and Sense of Community , 2008 .

[45]  J. Wolak,et al.  Risk factors for and impact of online sexual solicitation of youth. , 2001, JAMA.

[46]  JoAnne Yates,et al.  Shaping Electronic Communication: The Metastructuring of Technology in the Context of Use , 1995 .

[47]  Alaina G. Kanfer,et al.  Everyday Communication Patterns of Heavy and Light Email Users , 2008 .