Digital weapons in a post-conflict society

Anti-social behaviour remains high on the community agenda in Northern Ireland, as demonstrated by media headlines in 2018 such as ‘Residents ‘at the end of tether’ over anti-social behaviour in North Belfast’ (Irish News, May 28). Media coverage typically positions children and young people as the main perpetrators of anti-social behaviour within these communities (Gordon 2018). This is congruent with official youth justice policies directed towards children and young people, which frame this social group as being primarily responsible for anti-social behaviour, social disruption and low-level intercommunal violence near sectarian interfaces (Jarman and O’Halloran 2001; Gordon 2018). Such stereotyping has often been linked to the suspicion that surrounds groups of young people hanging around on street corners in these areas (Hamilton et al. 2003: 13). This often distracts policymakers and audiences from the paramilitary violence perpetrated against children and young people within these communities; indeed, there is a long history of young people being exiled or subjected to socalled paramilitary ‘punishment attacks’ for alleged anti-social behaviour (Hillyard et al. 2005: 190).

This chapter will explore the relatively under-researched issue of how social media is used in relation to paramilitary style assaults in Northern Ireland. Drawing on the preliminary findings from an ongoing study by the authors, it will explore how social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are being monitored by the police in order to identify such incidents and to encourage citizens to report them to the authorities. The chapter concludes by assessing the impact of the #stopattacks campaign and the role of community-based organisations and youth workers in establishing an alternative discourse in this area.