Internet and Social Media As a Form of Social Capital Among Homeless Youth
Schedule:
Friday, January 17, 2014: 9:00 AM
HBG Convention Center, Room 102B Street Level (San Antonio, TX)
* noted as presenting author
Eric Rice, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Robin Petering, MSW, PhD Student, University of Southern California, Los ANgeles, CA
Harmony Rhoades, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Hailey Winetrobe, MPH, CHES, Project Specialist, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Introduction: Internet and social media (ISM) have collectively revolutionized the ways in which people choose to communicate and obtain information. Homeless youth have fewer personal and social resources compared to their housed peers, which contribute to their marginalization. The “social capital” framework suggests that ISM might be avenues through which homeless youth might be bolstering their otherwise limited access to resources and relationships. First, the interactive and informative nature of the internet creates an environment amenable to “learning, confidence, and self-empowerment” (Sanyal, 2000). Second, internet and social media enable the creation and maintenance of social networks (Servon & Pinkett, 2004), especially for homeless youth. Data from a 2009 study of homeless youth in Hollywood, CA showed that 47% of homeless youth sought information about HIV or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and 23% used the internet to locate HIV testing services. It is unclear to what extent these data can be generalized to other homeless youth populations, especially youth who are situated in neighborhoods with very diverse service environments, and hence differences in ease of internet access. The first goal of this study is to determine if youth in different social service contexts (i.e., Hollywood versus Santa Monica) show different rates of using the internet for HIV information and testing location seeking. The second goal is to determine if such differences are related to demography, internet access, and/or social capital in these two homeless populations.
Methods: Homeless youth ages 14-27 years (N=380) were recruited from two drop-in centers, one in Santa Monica and one in Hollywood. Participants were asked to complete a computerized self-administered questionnaire. Analyses include descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic- regressions.
Results: Compared to their Santa Monica peers, more Hollywood homeless youth report using the internet daily (35% vs. 20%) and accessing the internet on their cell phones (58% vs. 35%). Furthermore, Hollywood youth are significantly more likely to look for information about HIV/AIDS online (42%). Likewise, youth in Hollywood were significantly more likely to use the internet to find an HIV testing location (28% vs. 18%). In multivariate logistic- regression models, site differences are no longer significant in regards to searching for HIV information online and finding HIV testing locations. However, youth with a lifetime history of HIV testing are 2.5 times more likely to report seeking HIV information online and 2.8 times more likely to report having used the internet to locate HIV testing services. Youth who use email and/or social networking websites to communicate with caseworkers or agency staff are 2.7 times more likely to report seeking HIV information online and 2.5 times more likely to report seeking an HIV testing location online.
Conclusions: These findings illustrate the need for increased internet-access for homeless youth. Agencies serving homeless youth should bookmark credible sexual health information websites. Agency staff may also consider utilizing email and social networking websites to communicate with their clients to facilitate HIV testing and information seeking. Additionally, agencies may consider linking their Facebook pages and websites to online HIV prevention interventions.