Surf and Turf Wars Online—Growing Implications of Internet Gang Violence

Abstract

To examine use of the Internet by gangs and its affect on youth, i-SAFE Inc. collected information from more than 100,000 students and 137 gang associates from an urban population. Although individuals who associate with a gang have distinguishable discrepancies in the amount of time spent online, they have similar online behavior as compared with those who are not involved with gangs. Additional research is necessary to develop a substantive link between gangs online and the school and community culture.

Keywords: Internet, Safety, Gang, Violence, Cyber bullying, i-SAFE

a Department of Communications, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California

b Fischler Graduate School, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida

Address correspondence to: Jonathan E. King, B.A., Director of Professional Development and Community Outreach, i-SAFE Inc., 5900 Pasteur Court, Suite 100, Carlsbad, CA 92008.

PII: S1054-139X(07)00366-7

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.001

11 of 11