Using Social Media to Avoid Violent Encounters, with Forrest Stuart

‘Social media drives violence.’ It’s a common claim, but is it true? Forrest Stuart, Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, paints a more nuanced picture. Drawing on his time with teenage gang members on the South Side of Chicago, he explores the tension between young people using social media to provoke, stay safe and seek validation, their posts being used against them in court, and the increased risks of victimisation for those living in urban poverty. 

Links & Resources

• Website: ⁠Stanford Ethnography Lab⁠ 
• Book: ⁠Ballad of the Bullet: Gangs, Drill Music, and the Power of Online Infamy⁠ by Forrest Stuart 
• Book: ⁠Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row⁠ by Forrest Stuart 
• Research: ⁠Children, violence and vulnerability 2025 | The scale of violence affecting children⁠ 
• Research: ⁠School climate and the impact of neighborhood crime on test scores⁠ 

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Host: Ciaran Thapar, Youth Endowment Fund 

Series Producer: Meera Kumar 

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