How Prison Inmates Get on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

For me and a lot of other prisoners, TRULINCS was a tremendous resource. Used in the right way and with the right people helping, a lot can be accomplished. Since the whole world is digital and mobile these days, it’s nice to be plugged in.

Of course, like everything in life, there’s a price.

TRULINCS isn’t a free service. The Bureau of Prisons charges five cents per minute to read or type an email. Not much, you might think, but it adds up. I used to spend up to 1200 minutes a week on my writing career from prison. That’s like $240 a month for an email service. And since most prisoners only make $15 or $20 a month, many simply can’t afford to stay connected.

That’s why so many inmates turn to illicit ventures like smuggling drugs or smartphones into their institutions. The money can be too hard to pass up. And for real, what are they going to do if they catch you, throw you in jail? But a bigger reason is that just like people in the real world, prisoners want to know what is going on, they want to let people know what is up with them and get some type of recognition and acknowledgement from people in return. When you are serving time in a correctional facility, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are a lifeline to the real world. And prisoners will do whatever it takes to hold onto that.

Follow Seth Ferranti on Twitter.

Article Appeared @http://www.vice.com/read/how-convicts-get-on-facebook-twitter-and-instagram-in-prison-211

 

 

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