Howard Becker in Hyperspace: Social Learning in an On-Line Drug Community

Abstract

Analyzing on-line drug communities provides important insights into the connection between computer-mediated communication and drug use in contemporary society. Drawing on social learning theory, we analyze conversations within the on-line community DMT-Nexus. We find that the on-line context affects the social learning process concerning drug use in distinct ways and identify how users gain relevant knowledge and interpretive strategies and acquire credibility. Based on these findings, we propose an expansion of Becker’s social learning model of drug use reflecting the unique constraints and opportunities of on-line contexts including the importance of vivid textual descriptions and modes of communication.

Notes

¹ The on-line community (dmt-nexus.me) examined within this study is easily accessed via the Internet, is indexed by major search engines such as Google, and provides only a space for conversation. However, the newly emerging so-called “dark web” black market websites provide actual access to purchasing drugs and other illegal items (see Chien 2011; Walsh 2011). In contrast, DMT-Nexus and most other “mainstream” on-line drug communities censor any talk that could facilitate the sale or distribution of illegal drugs in order to avoid legal issues. See the closing paragraph of this article for more on the “dark web” trend.

² Web 2.0 technologies are Web platforms and other virtual spaces that foster real-time interaction and participation in content creation rather than simply content consumption (Thomas and Sheth 2011).

³ In the case of hallucinogenic drugs such as DMT, regular usage in terms of high frequency or daily usage is largely uncommon (see Goode 2008). However, our analysis of DMT-Nexus did reveal evidence of many users who claimed to consume DMT fairly regularly (i.e., more than once a month).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Rosino

MICHAEL ROSINO is a doctoral student in Sociology at the University of Connecticut. His research interests include race & ethnicity, mass media, politics and digital sociology. His most recent work examines debates around the “War on Drugs” in newspapers and interactive digital media as a site of racial discourse and identity construction.

Annulla Linders

ANNULLA LINDERS is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include historical-comparative sociology, culture, social movements, and moral politics. She is currently working on a book on the transformation of the American execution audience.