RT Article
T1 Digital degradation: stigma management in the internet age
JF Punishment & society
VO 20
IS 1
SP 113
OP 133
A1 Lageson, Sarah Esther
A2 Maruna, Shadd
LA English
YR 2018
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1743479425
AB The concept of stigma and labeling has been central to the sociology of punishment since at least the writings of Durkheim and Mead. However, the vast transformations brought on by the expansion of the internet over the past 20 years suggest the need for revisiting the dynamics of labeling. While the power to apply extralegal criminal labels is now in the hands of many, stigma in the form of a digital footprint is arguably more difficult than ever to escape. This paper draws on two small studies to better understand these new dynamics of labeling: a discourse analysis of the motivations of online labelers and interviews with individuals struggling to cope with online labels. This evidence describes how the internet has become a fertile space for the expression of public anxieties about social problems and a digital prison that can discourage the labeled from engaging with the processes of reintegration.
K1 Criminal records
K1 Desistance
K1 Labeling
K1 Stigma
K1 Technology
DO 10.1177/1462474517737050