by Jamie Lopez
Social media platforms have become an integral part of the everyday lives of people all across the world. People have become consumed with scrolling through popular social media applications like Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook and have incorporated keeping up with the latest news or trends into their everyday routines. Whether these platforms are accessed through smartphones, tablets, or desktop computers, most Americans yearn for the ability to connect and interact with others.
The TikTok app has emerged as a staple of modern-day culture and remains one of the leading social media platforms of today with over 2 billion downloads. Having access to social media and its various associated technological devices may seem like a normalized part of life for most Americans, but for those residing in our state and federal prison systems, access proves to be a bit more challenging. At first glance, incarcerated individuals appear unable to reap the benefits of social media and virtual communication efforts, especially since they're not allowed to have cell phones. However, many have jumped on the TikTok bandwagon and have established a solid social media presence that has resulted in the creation of numerous viral videos exposing prison life for what it truly is.
Personal Cell Phone Policies
In all state and federal prisons, having a personal cellphone is typically classified as contraband due to the enactment of the Cell Phone Contraband Act of 2010. The act was created to address the problem of cell phone smuggling into prisons by allowing for the confiscation of phones to be sent to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for information extraction. Even though these devices are prohibited, somehow, they are still making their way through prison walls, today.
To combat the overall increase of cellphone usage of personal cell phones, the federal government implemented the Cellphone Jamming Reform Act of 2019. Under this act, state and federal prisons were permitted to use jamming technologies to disrupt cellphone signals within prisons. The primary goal of the act was centered on limiting cellphone usage, reducing crime, and keeping information about the inner workings of the prison system hidden from the outside world, but it was not as effective as hoped. When you take into account both the longing connect and the extremely limited internet and phone privileges awarded to those who are incarcerated, it makes sense why many would take matters into their own hands to acquire a personal mobile device.
Risks of Cell-Phone Usage in Prison
According to Interviews conducted by Vice News about the lives of current and formerly incarcerated TikTok users, many explain that there are several ways of getting a phone through the heavily guarded prison walls. With any reward, there is almost always an associated cost that accompanies it. For incarcerated folks, the benefit of acquiring a mobile device puts them at a significantly higher risk of solitary confinement and other harsh penalties like considerable increases in prison sentences. For some, these risks make the severity of the consequences seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, especially when faced with an already hefty prison sentence. However, for others, if there is even a slight possibility of harsh penalties and added time to a sentence, the question becomes what influences so many incarcerated individuals to take on the risk of getting caught with a cellphone?
Benefits of TikTok in Fighting the Misconceptions Surrounding Prison Populations
The TikTok platform and cell phones have provided incarcerated folks with the means to advocate for their humanity and showcase the true realities that occur behind prison walls. The Vice News interviews revealed that TikTok helped to confront the misconceptions of prison life and illuminated the desire for human connection. In my experience, many people cling to the misconception that incarcerated individuals are low life’s that are incapable of contributing positively to society, but this mentality doesn’t accurately represent the true character of these individuals. The TikTok platform has allowed the incarcerated population to show that there is more to a person than their criminal record. Like everyone else, they have a desire to feel supported and connected to others.
A glimpse into the realities of prison life of both formerly incarcerated and currently incarcerated individuals can be accessed through a simple #prisontiktok search on the TikTok app. The hashtag showcases short videos that can be somewhat controversial but mostly vary from prison food hacks and cell tours to comedic dance challenges and short advice sessions. Other videos created by incarcerated individuals have revealed the disgraceful conditions they are forced to live in, which range from having to use lighting fixtures wired up to boil hot water to being served moldy, unappetizing food options. The hashtag has become an insightful resource for exposing prison conditions, however, it is not the only hashtag that exists to highlight some aspect of prison life.
The realm of prison TikTok mainly features the struggles and experiences of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, but they are not the only ones taking advantage of the social media platform. An increasingly popular trend that I have seen recently deals with the exposure of various experiences of prison wives using the hashtag #prisonwife. Under this hashtag, a prison couple usually depicts a relationship where one individual, typically the husband, is incarcerated while the wife remains on the outside. Many of these couples are creating short videos addressing the stereotypes and struggles of maintaining a relationship dictated by prison life. As you scroll through each video under the hashtag, users receive valuable insight into what truly goes on in the daily lives of both men who are incarcerated and their wives. These videos have helped create a community of people who experience similar situations with their loved ones.
Impact
When you are serving time in a correctional facility, social media platforms provide a lifeline into the real world. TikTok has become a resource for survival on the inside whether that is assisting in the discovery of a much-needed support system or helping to build a two-way, virtual communication line between followers and incarcerated individuals. I think it is beneficial to help remind the world that being incarcerated does not make you any less of a human. Incarcerated folks still experience pain, joy, sorrow, and happiness just like everyone else, which can sometimes be easy to forget due to the tendency of society to cling onto the social stigmas surrounding prison life.
Regardless of whether or not you believe in these stigmas, the Tik Tok platform has emerged an influential social media platform that has allowed increased exposure into the realities of what life is really like on the inside. Incarcerated individuals have utilized the platform to connect into the outside world by dissuading youth—who are a large portion of the TikTok demographic—from continuing down a prison destined path and showcasing some aspect of their humanity. Without TikTok, a large majority of the true realities of prison life would continue to remain hidden from the rest of society.
For more information, feel free to check out #prisontiktok on the TikTok app or check out some of my personal favorite #prisontiktok videos below.
Prison Dance Challenge: https://www.tiktok.com/@prisontok/video/6919359152665988358?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6918439687879378438
Prison Life Hack: https://www.tiktok.com/@prisontok/video/6848315668731858182?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6918439687879378438
Prison Experience Story: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeardedegg/video/6938514046643670278?lang=en&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6918439687879378438