Question

Do you believe social media has the potential of changing controls that are linked to criminal behavior?Why or Why not?

Answer 1

The immense popularity of social media platforms today have transformed our way of understanding the concept of crime and victimization. With the help of social media, the authorities and public can communicate in real time about incidents. But, on the other hand this has facilitated new crimes as well (like fraud and identity theft, performance crimes etc.)

It is rightly assumed that most criminal behavior is learned through socialization. Accordingly many sociological theories suggests improving social capital of potential offenders. As quoted, “Social capital refers to social networks within and among groups, access to important resources, and sharing the norms, values and understandings that facilitate belonging to society” (Flavin 2004)

Thinking in similar fashion Social media today has emerged as Social Capital. Bringing the world closer and within clicks beyond, it has improved our relationships and added as a support system, giving an easy access to community resources. Use of social media can help us in achieving the goal of reducing criminal behavior if enacted properly. This could be used to reduce the number of individuals going to prison and also the rate of recidivism.