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Voice of Chinese unwed single mothers remains unheard in public discourse in China. Since 2001, the government has enforced punishment and penalties on childbirth out of wedlock. Isolated socially offline, many turn to parenting forums as a source for social support. This study examined the role of online social support in the social and well-being of unwed single mothers in China. In particular, the largest online parenting forum that caters to unwed single mother was examined. After filtering out causal talks and other unrelated conversations, 578 initial unwed motherhood related post was narrowed to a total of 76 threads (which included 4892 messages). Findings reveal that all three types of social support: information, emotion, and tangible support were present and exchanged among the members of the discussion board. The findings highlight a positive impact of online social support on the overall wellbeing of this group. The presence and exchange of social support not only enhanced self-esteem and promoted individual empowerment, but also raised group consciousness and created a bond and a sense of belonging to an online community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While extensive research has been conducted on young people’s peer interaction via online communication, the focus has been on mainstream youths, with marginalized youth communities being understudied. To help address this inadequacy, the current study conducted interviews with Singaporean male juvenile delinquents (n =36) to understand the role of online communication in their peer interactions and the salient characteristics of such interactions. Our findings show that Facebook was the principal tool of online peer interaction. However, given the particular circumstances of juvenile delinquents, online social networking presents issues that may compromise efforts to rehabilitate them. These include extending the time and opportunities for unstructured and unsupervised peer socialization, peer endorsement of delinquent acts and the pressure of having to display group loyalty in the online space. Even after rehabilitation, youths who attempt to distance themselves from their delinquent peers are challenged by the persistence of their online social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While extensive research has been conducted on young people’s peer interaction via online communication, the focus has been on mainstream youths, with marginalized youth communities being understudied. To help address this inadequacy, the current study conducted interviews with Singaporean male juvenile delinquents (n =36) to understand the role of online communication in their peer interactions and the salient characteristics of such interactions. Our findings show that Facebook was the principal tool of online peer interaction. However, given the particular circumstances of juvenile delinquents, online social networking presents issues that may compromise efforts to rehabilitate them. These include extending the time and opportunities for unstructured and unsupervised peer socialization, peer endorsement of delinquent acts and the pressure of having to display group loyalty in the online space. Even after rehabilitation, youths who attempt to distance themselves from their delinquent peers are challenged by the persistence of their online social networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]