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Guns on social media: complex interpretations of gun images posted by Chicago youth

Author

Listed:
  • Desmond U. Patton

    (Columbia School of Social Work)

  • William R. Frey

    (Columbia School of Social Work)

  • Michael Gaskell

    (Columbia School of Social Work)

Abstract

How should we interpret gun images on social media? Take for example the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School. Media articles revealed that the gunman, a white adolescent male, posted images of firearms and other weapons on his social media profile prior to the shooting. On the other hand, when it comes to Black communities, digital policing strategies often intercept images with guns and individuals thought to be associated with gangs before a crime is ever committed. In this study, we use a mixed methods approach, situated in social systems theory, to make meaning of gun posting behavior among Black youth who associate with gangs in Chicago. We collected and examined a corpus of Twitter images (1851) through snowball sampling of a well-known deceased gang member in Chicago and users in their Twitter network. We identified 560 images that contain guns and asked two distinct groups to annotate images: formerly gang-involved outreach workers, known as community domain experts, at a local Chicago violence prevention organization and Master of Social Work students at Columbia University. After comparing their results, findings highlighted the prevalence and frequency of gun image posting within this corpus and critical differences in how community domain experts and social work annotators perceive guns. The various underlying intents provide a rich source of knowledge for understanding the symbolic nature of guns in the digital age.

Suggested Citation

  • Desmond U. Patton & William R. Frey & Michael Gaskell, 2019. "Guns on social media: complex interpretations of gun images posted by Chicago youth," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:5:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-019-0330-x
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-019-0330-x
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