Exactly.

People did mention that and I also said that I didn't think email (supervised) and Skype (supervised) would be a terrible thing for prisoners. The fact remains that the immediacy of social networking lends itself to people taking advantage. Right now prisoners who smuggle in cell phones are often involved in gang…

Social media also allows for inmates to organize riots, gang violence and criminal activity outside the prison. It is not only an unnecessary luxury for people, it's a dangerous tool to give to criminals. Please read my other posts. I said I would support email or Skype sessions for inmates. Social media, not so much.

I love you.

Why don't you read through the rest of the thread? This has been covered about 15 times.

What is up with this guy? So much sass!

Well that's fine and valid. I wasn't really talking about LDR's to be honest, and I should have been clearer.

That was actually my point, is that there are bigger fish to fry than the social media angle. And maybe the article itself is poorly written (not Madeleine's but the source material) because that paragraph immediately set me off and judging by some of the other comments here and on a couple other threads, I'm not the…

I've already said several times that I feel for the prisoner's families, but I don't understand why that means I would need to feel for the prisoners themselves because they can't get on Instagram. I'm not sure what the solution is but it's not that.

But you're missing the fact that these people are in prison. For crimes. They are incarcerated. So "reading a simple Facebook update" or "using Twitter to IM" is not on the table, nor is "going outside without guards watching" or "having lunch with friends whenever is convenient." There are certain things you give up.

But there has never been an option for social media and text. Literally NEVER has that been something that they are allowed to do. I'm not saying the system doesn't need reform but with the way organized crime is these days the last thing they need is access to Facebook. And by the way, I never said anything about…

Perhaps I'm reading wrong, but the implication in most of these posts is that 1. prisoners have no good way of communicating with their loved ones (phone calls cost too much, visits are too far away, letters don't work because illiteracy) so 2. they need an alternative, i.e. social media, which—if anyone was actually…

Also, I never acted that way. I simply said I don't feel sorry for them not being able to use social media. I don't understand where you're getting this.

No, I'm not ending it and I wasn't trying to be snotty. I am pointing out that it apparently is of dire importance if it's a necessity. I mean the whole thing is sort of an off-topic conversation because the crux of it is I don't believe social media is necessary and you do. That's a bigger conversation than just…

Also, isn't a "necessity" of dire importance by definition? That sort of blows away the whole argument.

I personally don't view it as a necessity and as I said before, I also don't believe it's an inalienable human right.

So your solution is what? Put all the prisoners on Instagram? Let them have cell phones? If you refer back to my original comment I'm arguing against the idea that I should feel bad for them because they don't have social media. The fact that phone calls cost a lot isn't germane to that discussion, IMO. I didn't even…

I wasn't saying they are lazy at all. My comment about "the horror" is more directed at the people in this thread who are insisting that social media is of dire importance to modern relationships.

I wasn't advocating for them to be off the internet entirely, and I actually do think that sometimes email would be appropriate (or scheduled Skype as another person suggested). The rest of it? Instagram, texts, Facebook? Nope. Communication between prisoners and their spouses has never been immediate; I don't think…

But that situation has ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. LITERALLY ALWAYS. There has never been a time when prisoners' wives could text them while in prison. I don't even understand this argument. It is not a new thing that when you go to jail you get your privileges revoked. Like I said, I feel for the women involved but this…