Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
Much existing research is characterized by a primary focus on the “online” aspects of drug sales facilitated by social media, resulting in a divide between “on”- and “offline” drug dealing. We wish to bridge this gap, by focusing on the hybridity of dealing drugs via social media and by arguing for a more holistic understanding of contemporary drug dealing.
Findings/Key points
Findings indicate that many sellers start by dealing offline and gradually drift into sales using social media technology. While the internet offers drug sellers new opportunities to expand their business, many sellers are not technological exclusionists but rather adopt a multichannel approach where they sell both via social media and occasionally or regularly also through in-person and technologically analogue means. Additionally, many sellers do not draw clear cut distinctions between whether they use social media, SMS or encrypted apps, but rather see their “drug sales phone” as one medium for all sales related communication.
Design/methods
This article is based on in-depth digitally facilitated oral interviews with 25 individuals with experience of dealing drugs via social media platforms and encrypted messaging apps and on observational data from different apps and platforms.
