Internet and Social Media Use as a Resource Among Homeless Youth

Area of Science:

• Digital sociology
• Youth studies
• Social media research

Background:

• Limited understanding of internet and social media usage patterns among homeless youth.
• Existing typologies of internet use among housed youth may apply to homeless populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the nature and purposes of internet and social media use among homeless youth.
• To explore the relationship between social tie maintenance and online resource seeking in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of internet and social media engagement among homeless youth.
• Application of Haythornthwaite's premise on media use and social ties.
• Utilizing the social capital perspective to analyze online behaviors.

Main Results:

• Homeless youth engage with digital platforms for entertainment, sociability, and instrumental goals.
• Email is primarily used for instrumental communication (parents, caseworkers, employers), while social media facilitates peer interactions.
• Youth with maintained or bridging social ties online demonstrated a higher propensity for seeking jobs and housing.

Conclusions:

• Internet and social media serve diverse functions for homeless youth, mirroring those of housed youth.
• The type of social tie accessed via digital media influences the utility for instrumental purposes like job and housing searches.
• Leveraging digital platforms to maintain and build social capital is crucial for homeless youth's resource acquisition.