What Do People Routinely Use Them For?

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

Surveys of youth and/or young adults (hereafter, surveys of youth) also assess parameters of gang phenomena. Estimates of prevalence rates of gang membership ranging from 5% to 25% have been reported from major projects initiated by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Also by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training; Bjerregaard & Smith, 1993).

Social networking is the mainstream way to communicate with anyone. Teenagers are obsessed with social networking, no one calls each other unless it’s extreme circumstances or their mother. Sharing pictures, sharing life stories, and sharing opinions online has been the way of life and the norm for kids growing up with computers and smart phones. The parents to this generation have not grown up in the same environment and have different standards for online activity. In the Article “ 10 Reasons Why I Avoid Social Networking Services” written by Alan Norton, he lists why he does not use social networking services. His personal beliefs are backed up with statistics and hold true to many people in his generation but not in the younger ones.

Defining gangs have been compared to packs, teams, and groups. Participants of gangs do not necessarily commit violent acts or commence in illegal matters. The National Gang Center has come to a consensus on defining gangs with the commonalities of three or more members between the ages of 12 through 24, shared identity, recognized by others as a gang or crew, has levels of organization, and usually involved in criminal activities (Shelden, Tracy, Brown, 2013). Some gangs are excluded from this definition due to not proportionate with their usual activities. Overall, we can consider gangs to be founded when members share similar characteristics and establish a symbol to represent their livelihood.

Gang violence is a serious problem in America today, and it is also prevalent in the other countries in the world. “According to a national gang survey, the most recent estimate

About two thirds of the surveyed students reported that gangs at school were involved in one or more

Gangs in inner cities like Chicago and New York also use social media to communicate and recruit new members. The police in these cities see gangs using social media in this way as a mistake because they are able to keep track of the gangs locations and actions. Megan Behrman, the writer of “When Gangs Go Viral: Using Social Media and Surveillance Cameras to Enhance Gang Database”. She states that, “gang members routinely use social media to highlight their criminal endeavors, to intimidate and threaten rival gangs, and to promote their own gang” (Behrman 6). The police create fake accounts that seem like young adults looking to join the gang and begin to follow leading members in the gang on social media. The police then monitor posts and messages from the gang leaders and can then use this information and stop events before they even happen. The police being able to do this is fantastic. The police can find out when , where, and what illegal activity is going to happen and be able to stop it from happening before it even

The issue of gangs in the United States is one of massive proportions. According to the FBI's website, as of 2010 there are 33,000 violent street, motorcycle, and prison gangs in the U.S. with approximately 1.4 million total active members (Pastor). These gangs derive most of their revenue from the smuggling and distribution of illicit substances and weapons. Many of the gangs in the U.S. recruit members as young as 11 years old, such as the well known 18th Street Gang from L.A. ("18th Street Gang"). The fact that these gangs prey on inner-city youth who have nowhere else to turn is why they remain so powerful, seeing that for every gang member incarcerated the gangs can simply recruit another member. Due to these reasons I believe that gang activity is one of the largest social issues we face in the United States today.

Recruitment of gang members occurs through a process of selection (Densley, 2012, p. 302). Selection “is a key component” in recruitment, completed through the observation of various risk factors revealed in “daily interactions” in the lives of potential gang members (Densley, 2012, pp. 302, 308). Recruiters are known to watch for durability and strength in those whom they believe may be beneficial to the gang (Densley, 2012, p. 302). The proof of strength is often detected through tests, which gang recruits may know of

Throughout the year 2014 Andrew V. Papachristos, Anthony A. Braga, Eric Piza, and Leigh S. Grossman published an article on street gangs, social networking and gun violence. The tile of the article is THE COMPANY YOU KEEP? THE SPILLOVER EFFECTS OF GANG MEMBERSHIP ON INDIVIDUAL GUNSHOT VICTIMIZATION IN A CO-OFFENDING NETWORK. The group of authors wrote the article to show what gangs are capable of while they are out on the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Per the authors, having friends who identify as gang members of certain gangs makes you more likely to be a victim of a gang shooting.

Abstract: This review studies in depth research done on street gangs. Social issues have social scientists turning away from including this in their research around this time. Sociological views have been changed dramatically in the past 40 years due to gender and racial studies. Also, women have started to join gangs since America has been changed with woman equality laws passing.

Many people in our society can relate. We wake up, check our phones. We go to school, check our phones. We go home, check our phones. And right before we go to bed, we check our phones. And for what? What are we constantly checking? Imagine logging out of social networking sites for one day. How would you feel? You would probably feel disconnected and want to log back on as soon as possible. This generation uses these websites to connect, to stay in the loop, and to become involved. However, people will take advantage of the use of these websites, and in return, the websites take over the majority of their life. The act of constantly wanting to be

Relevance Statement: Most teens nowadays use the Internet; the usage varies according to each person, but I know that everyone in here is familiar with it.

In this article “Teens and Technology 2013” by Pew Internet & American Life Project shows statistics between teens internet access and teen and tablet ownership. Now these days most teens are online. The article says, “Fully 95% of teens are online” (“Teens and Technology). Internet can be accessed through cellphones, tablets, and mobile devices(“Teens and Technology). The younger the age group, the more use of internet occurs. Pew Internet & American Life Project wanted to show facts and graphs on internet use for teens. The information could open people’s eyes and see how much teens are using the devices with internet.

At any given time of day, anyone can access an abundant amount of information at the click of a button. Men, women, kids, teenagers, adults and even the elderly are learning how to use the internet to their advantage. Among all the benefits the internet has provided to us, online communication has proven to be the most beneficial. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have made it easy for everyone to stay in contact with each other. Regardless of how far apart a family member or friend is, everyone is just one click away. If someone is not having a good day, they can share their feelings with everyone in a matter of seconds. These social networking sites have become quite popular among adolescents. They allow teens to stay more connected with their friends outside of school. Now teens have become more obsessed with their friends Facebook or Twitter status than engaging in outdoor activities like football or