Managing peer relationships online – Investigating the use of Facebook by juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk Sun Sun Lim ⇑ , Yoke Hian Chan, Shobha Vadrevu, Iccha Basnyat Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore, AS6, 11 Computing Drive, Singapore 117 416, Singapore article info Article history: Available online 11 July 2012 Keywords: Internet Online social networks Facebook Juvenile delinquents Youths-at-risk Youth rehabilitation abstract While extensive research has been conducted on young people’s peer interaction via online communica- tion, the focus has been on mainstream youths, with marginalized youth communities being understud- ied. To help address this inadequacy, the current study conducted interviews with Singaporean male juvenile delinquents (n = 36) to understand the role of online communication in their peer interactions and the salient characteristics of such interactions. Our findings show that Facebook was the principal tool of online peer interaction. However, given the particular circumstances of juvenile delinquents, online social networking presents issues that may compromise efforts to rehabilitate them. These include extending the time and opportunities for unstructured and unsupervised peer socialization, peer endorsement of delinquent acts and the pressure of having to display group loyalty in the online space. Even after rehabilitation, youths who attempt to distance themselves from their delinquent peers are challenged by the persistence of their online social networks. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Extensive research has been conducted on young people’s peer interaction via computer-mediated communication over the Inter- net and mobile phone, with the attention centered on mainstream youths. However, the use of mediated communication by margin- alized youth communities such as juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk is still understudied. In light of rising Internet and mobile phone use amongst youths worldwide, coupled with the prevailing issue of delinquency and risk-taking among youths (Haynie, 2002), this is an issue of growing import that bears closer investigation. As Skoric (2011) notes, ‘‘computer-mediated com- munication is hardly new but its growing ubiquity should prompt us to reexamine its role in social and political life’’ (p. 427). Thus, the relationship between online peer interaction and juvenile delinquency warrants closer examination. Peer interaction among juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk has always been an issue of concern because delinquency has been traced to intense peer relationships among high-end risk-takers (Davis, 1999). Indeed, it has been consistently found that adoles- cents with delinquent peers are more likely to be delinquent them- selves (Agnew, 1991) and that antisocial behavior amongst adolescents is more likely when they spend more time with peers than with adults (Schlegel & Barry, 1991). The impact which delin- quent peers have on adolescents’ delinquency is influenced by their sense of attachment to peers, time spent with peers, and the extent to which peers set pro-delinquency norms and model and/or reinforce delinquent behavior (Agnew, 1991; Boeringer, Shehan, & Akers, 1991; Haynie, 2002; Matsueda, 1988). When embedded in a network of delinquent peers, an adolescent is ex- posed to the expectations, norms and sanctions that either support or discourage delinquent behavior (Haynie, 2002). Furthermore, the more time an individual spends with peers, the more likely the occurrence of situational inducements to deviance, and conse- quently, higher rates of deviance (Osgood, Anderson, & Shaffer, 2005; Osgood, Wilson, O’Malley, Bachman, & Johnston, 1996). Indi- vidual motivations for delinquency within the context of the social group have also been scrutinized. It has been found that delin- quents engage in ‘reputation management’, wherein their delin- quent behavior is an assertion of their social identity and moral reputation amongst their peer network, and is often geared to- wards shoring up their popularity (Emler & Reicher, 1995). Notably also, popular adolescents have been found to be more likely to in- crease behaviors that receive peer endorsement, such as substance abuse and other delinquent behaviors (Allen, Porter, McFarland, Marsh, & McElhaney, 2005). In the Singapore context specifically, juvenile delinquents tend to be socialized rather than character- ological in that they offend due to close attachment to their peer groups and legitimize their group membership by conforming to group norms (Choi & Lo, 2004). The social nature of juvenile delinquency in Singapore is most pronounced in the activities of 0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.04.025 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +65 6516 8754; fax: +65 6779 4911. E-mail addresses: sunlim@nus.edu.sg (S.S. Lim), yokehian@gmail.com (Y.H. Chan), shobhavadrevu@gmail.com (S. Vadrevu), icchabasnyat@nus.edu.sg (I. Bas- nyat). Computers in Human Behavior 29 (2013) 8–15 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh