Violence on Social Media: An Exploration into the Online Expressions of Adolescents from Marginalized Areas of Greater Buenos Aires

Abstract

This paper explores the online expressions of violence perpetrated or experienced by adolescents from marginalized areas of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. Four specific events-threats, “bondis” [fights], cyberbullying and grief-were examined using a qualitative methodology consisting of 20 in-depth interviews and 3,000 virtual observations of Facebook profiles. Among the main findings, most expressions of violence were found to be part of an offline-online dynamic. Based on the empirical evidence provided herein, it can be affirmed that these adolescents’ expressions of violence develop around the culture of “aguante” [fierce loyalty]. This paper ponders whether on the “Like” platform, these expressions are implicitly utilitarian to the social network or, on the contrary, they enable displacements and meaningful reappropriations on the part of users. Ultimately, it poses new questions about the use of these tools by adolescents from marginalized areas and sets out to delve into the approaches used to examine these phenomena in all their complexity.