Page 98 - Social Norms Survey

would not appreciate some of the jokes, however, because they involve tricking people

into eating disgusting items. The boys also send jokes and religious messages and they play
a lot of games on their phones with others.

Some young adults also share frequently—24/7, every second; but not as many as the

students, it would seem. The young women say they are careful about personal shares
because they know it can affect things like future employment. Some share food,

everything. “Even if dem a go a bathroom go bathe!” However the great majority of the
other shares are negative, say the women from Whitehall. The Gayle women say only 25–

50.0 per cent are negative shares and that women hardly share them. “Males tend to share
negative things especially if they want to be seen as a badman.” The young men gave

no positive examples. As far as one St. James group was concerned, the only thing they
considered to be a negative share would be child molestation or rape. Fighting, murder,

violence in general “nuh do a ting to me enuh, because negative is the norm.” Another
chipped in: “Because shooting an dem ting deh, robbery, a just everyday lifestyle.”

Negative Social Media Shares

For young adults then, it is negative shares that predominate, especially among the men:
accidents, dead bodies, horrific body damage including action videos of decapitation,

chopping, stabbing etc. In addition young men use their phones to video scenes of
violence instead of taking action to save a life: “Wah man get shot or stab or accident juss

happen an a man pack out him phone an him start video…‘Look how ee man look, man!’
Man mash up an yu know say yu can save the person life, an yu video, an yu video. When

yu feel like yu heart full yu juss, yow, carry him go hospital. Him dead already.” Exactly the
same behaviour was described by young men in the previous 2017 study; in that instance
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in relation to intimate partner violence, pointing out the dead woman when the police
arrived, alerted too late so that the video could get it all, and failing to save a life when

they could have put down the phone and intervened.

Young women take part in matey wars on social media just as the students do. It happens
every day on social media, maybe twice a week in real life. However the Gayle women

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48 Violence Prevention Alliance. February 2018. Overview of 2017 Findings from Residents’ Feedback on Women and
Children’s Safety and Security in 13 Volatile Communities.

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