Real Drugs in a Virtual World Drug Discourse and Community Online

by Murguia, Edward; Tackett-Gibson, Melissa; Lessem, Ann; Crispino, Azzurra; Gatson, Sarah N.; Halbert, Shawn; Kotarba, Joseph A.; Willard, Rachel

• ISBN13: 9780739114551
• ISBN10: 0739114557
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-02-09
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

The editors of this pivotal text, Edward Murguia, Melissa Tackett-Gibson, and Ann Lessem, elevate the debate about drug use and the Internet from a polemic discourse to a social scientific investigation. The essays confront issues related to the study of drug communication online, including the causal factors of abuse as discussed in online forums, the relationship between music and drug use in virtual communities, and the ways in which individuals assess the accuracy of online drug information. This book highlights the variety of ways to examine drug use as a social problem and presents several theoretical perspectives valuable to online research. Real Drugs in a Virtual World is an enlightening and thought-provoking read that will appeal to sociology students and those interested in virtual communities. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction	p. 1
Other Studies
Club Drugs, Online Communities, and Harm Reduction Websites on the Internet	p. 5
A Study in Online Community
The Body or the Body Politic? Risk, Harm, Moral Panic and Drug Use Discourse Online	p. 23
The New Drugs Internet Survey: A Portrait of Respondents	p. 45
Online Narratives of Use
Causal Factors in Drug Use: A Phenomenological Approach Based on Internet Data	p. 59
Voluntary Use, Risk, and Online Drug-use Discourse	p. 67
Deterrence of Harm to Self: A Study of Online Rhetoric	p. 83
The Internet, Knowledge, and Offline Experience
Assessing the Likelihood of Internet Information-Seeking Leading to Offline Drug Use by Youth	p. 99
Scripters and Freaks: Knowledge and Use of Prescription Stimulants Online	p. 121
Illegal Behavior and Legal Speech: Internet Communities' Discourse about Drug Use	p. 135
Music, Drugs, and Online Subcultures
Music as a Feature of the Online Discussion of Illegal Drugs	p. 161
The Neverending Conversation: A Case Study of Rave-Related Internet Conversation and Drug Use	p. 181
Using Popular Music to Interpret the Drug Experience	p. 197
Conclusion
A Review of Internet Studies in this Volume, an Examination of Root Causes of Drug Abuse from a Societal Point of View, and Some Possible Solutions	p. 215
About the Authors	p. 231
Index	p. 235
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