This document summarizes a presentation about research on LGBT youth of color and their use of mobile technology. It discusses two studies, one quantitative and one qualitative, with LGBT youth in NYC. The key findings are: 1) For LGBT homeless youth, mobile technology provides economic and social benefits like applying for jobs, staying connected to friends and family, and accessing mental health support through music and communication. 2) LGBT youth, especially homeless youth, use mobile technology to avoid police harassment and misconduct by resisting contact with police or reporting issues. 3) Researchers suggest concepts like the "digital divide" are outdated and mobile technology has become integrated into everyday life and a basic human right, especially regarding health access and interventions.

1. “LGBT Youth of Color and Mobile Technology:
Preliminary Data from Two Urban Samples”
CHEST Colloquia Series
June 3, 2011
Jessie Daniels, PhD
CUNY- Hunter College and the Graduate Center

2. <Background>

4. the ‘old’ Internet = a desktop

5. *Pew Internet & American Life Project

6. “smart” phones = Internet is mobile

7. *Pew Internet & American Life Project

9. *Pew Internet & American Life Project

10. Is the “digital
divide” a useful
concept for
understanding
the experiences
…of LGBT youth of color?
…including homeless LGBT
youth, many of whom are
Black and/or Latino/a?

11. How does
mobile
technology
shape health
…for LGBT youth of color?
…including homeless LGBT
youth, many of whom are
Black and/or Latino/a?

12. <Quantitative Sample>

13. <SJS Study>

14. <Total Sample Size = 5,500>

15. <N = 4,953>

16. Research Methods

17. Our Partner Organizations

21. <Supplement>

22. Mobile Technology & Police

23. * Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010

25. * Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010

30. <qualitative sample>

31. Sylvia’s Place

32. Sylvia Rivera, 1951-2002

33. Part of MCCNY since 2002

34. “Epidemic” of homelessness among LGBT youth

35. 20,000 homelessness youth in NYC each night

36. 40% identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Trans

37. Most are ‘invisible’ either as LGBT or homeless

38. Among homeless youth in NYC,

39. half are African American, one-third are Latino/a.

40. Multiple health concerns caused by homelessness

41. mobile technology: economic survival

42. "It’s important for me to have it. I have to
have a phone to apply for jobs, to have a
contact number for them to contact me.”

43. "I use it to apply for jobs, and for you know,
what do you call it, public assistance."

44. mobile technology:
emotional support & mental health

45. "I love my phone. For me, mainly it’s
about MP3s because I love music. It eats
up the battery, but I don’t care."

46. "If I didn’t have my phone, I’d go crazy."

47. "If I didn’t have my phone, there wouldn’t
be no happiness for me."

48. “When you’re in a setting like this, which is
like a little more confined – you do have to
follow the rules and regulations – you have
access to technologies like that which just
keep you sane.”

49. “Im on a bridge
Im gonna jump.”
~ text message from
teen to case manager

50. mobile technology:
social cohesion

51. "I have to be able to stay in touch with
people friends from Sylvia’s -- see what
everybody’s doing, how they’re doing, what
they’re up to."

52. "I got friends in Switzerland and shit."

53. “I use it to keep in touch with my son.
He’s 2. He lives in LA.
During the day I text, to stay in touch
with my brother. He keeps my son
during the day now. And, then at night,
after 9pm I call and talk to my son.”

54. mobile technology:
paying for it

55. “I love technology. I’ve had like,100 phones.
When I first started staying at Sylvia’s I had
my phone stolen like every other night, so
I’d just buy a new one and replace it.”

56. “This year alone I had like 5 iPhones. I sold
them. I’d get a new one and jail break it.”
{Q: Why jail break it?}
“So I could use T-Mobile, that’s the plan I’ve
got. And because to get AT&T would be like,
500 dollars and stuff.”

57. "I use my food stamps to pay for my
minutes. I mean, food is important too, but
I can get that other places.”

58. “I go to Brooklyn, there’s a guy there that will
buy them, he has to know you, he doesn’t
buy from just anyone. And, it’s 70/30. He
takes 30 and I get 70, which is pretty good.
So, I use that money to pay for my plan and
then I can find food other ways."

59. mobile technology:
reinventing reach

60. {Q: So, if someone wanted to stay in touch
with you, say from this health van, and send
you free information about health, how would
you feel about that?}
A: “I would basically look at the phone and not
check it. Nah, minutes! ”

61. {Q: So, what if they wanted to pay for it, then would
you look at it?}
A: “Oh, yeah, then I’d be like, whatever you want!
Send me whatever you want and I’ll listen to it!”

62. <What Does This Tell Us?>

63. “digital divide” is
a disabling
rhetoric that is
not supported
by the data…
…for LGBT youth of color,
…including homeless LGBT
youth, many of whom are
Black and/or Latino/a.

64. mobile technology permeates life

65. “One of the things
our grandchildren
will find quaintest
about us is that
we distinguish the
digital …from the real.
In the future, that will
become literally impossible.”
~ William Gibson

66. police & lgbt youth of color

67. LGBT youth of
color use mobile
technology to
avoid police
contact, resist
police harassment …and to report misconduct,
both LGBT youth of color
who are in stable housing
and those who are not.

68. For LGBT youth of
color, mobile
technology is a
means of physical
economic survival,
a mechanism for better mental health
and a way to reach out for help.

69. LGBT youth are
experiencing an
‘epidemic’ of
homelessness that
puts them in the
path of STIs and
HIV, and they are part of another trend.
LGBT homeless youth are
part of the ‘wired’
generation.

70. When asked about
their priorities, LGBT
youth of color said
police harassment is a major
concern.
LGBT homeless youth are
most concerned about
mental health issues.

71. survival & resistance

72. resilience

73. Perhaps we
need to shift
our thinking
away from
digital divides to thinking of technology as
a basic human right,
like clean water or healthy
food.

74. Internet-
enabled mobile
technologies,
are often how young people
access health information and
are increasingly a part of
public health interventions

75. Prevention:
Juzang I, Fortune T, Black S, Wright E, Bull S. (2011). " A pilot programme using
mobile phones for HIV prevention," J Telemed Telecare 17(3):150-3. Epub 2011
Jan 26.
Adherence:
De Costa A, Shet A, Kumarasamy N, et al. (2010). "Design of a randomized trial to
evaluate the influence of mobile phone reminders on adherence to first line
antiretroviral treatment in South India--the HIVIND study protocol." BMC Med
Res Methodol. (10):25.
Lester RT, Ritvo P, Mills EJ, Kariri A, et al. (2010). "Effects of a mobile phone short
message service on antiretroviral treatment adherence in Kenya (WelTel
Kenya1): a randomised trial." Lancet 376(9755):1838-45.
Shet A, Arumugam K, Rodrigues R, Rajagopalan N, et al. (2010). "Designing a mobile
phone-based intervention to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy in
South India." AIDS Behavior (3):716-20.

76. <Next Steps>

77. Social Justice Sexuality Project
http://www.socialjusticesexuality.com

78. http://www.homelessyouthservices.org
book: Lucky Michaels, Shelter
doc: “Queer Streets” (LOGO)

79. twitter: @JessieNYC
Thank you!