Digital Ambiguous Loss and Incarceration: Multimodal Analysis of Image-Based Posts Among Gang-Affiliated Black Youth

Abstract

Ambiguous loss, a profound sense of grief unrelated to death, is often overlooked in the context of incarceration, particularly among marginalized communities. Families of incarcerated individuals experience profound loss while also feeling disconnected due to systemic barriers and social stigma. This qualitative study explores how Black gang-affiliated youth in Chicago use multimodal posts, combined text, images, and emojis posts, to navigate incarceration-related ambiguous loss. Using Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA) and a Strength-based Approach, we analyzed 65 multimodal posts to examine digital memorialization and advocacy. Findings reveal two key themes: Collective Advocacy and Ambiguous Loss and Commemorating Absence, highlighting social solidarity in coping and exploring digital memorialization. Results suggest that social media serves as a critical space for expressing grief, maintaining relationships, advocating for systemic change, and fostering community support. This study contributes to digital mourning and ambiguous loss research, emphasizing how youth use online spaces to process grief and build resilience.

Introduction

Grief is one of the most challenging life experiences, marked by longing, sorrow, and enduring memories of a loved one. It unfolds in both public and private spaces, and the ways we cope with grief are deeply influenced by social and cultural contexts (Shear & Mulhare, 2008). Although there is emerging research on the omnipresence of grief culturally, Black grief remains under examined in both offline and online spaces. While Black communities often turn to spiritual faith, family, and community networks for support during times of distress (Moore et al., 2019), many Black youth impacted by high rates of incarceration and gun violence experience loss as a continuous and complex process shaped by psychological and social components (Patton et al., 2018). Incarceration, in particular, creates a form of loss that is both intimate and invisible marked by absence, uncertainty, and limited avenues for emotional expression (K. M. King & Delgado, 2021; McLean et al., 2024). This experience aligns with what Boss (2007) defines as ambiguous loss: a type of grief that persists due to a lack of closure or certainty about a loved one’s status or return. Unlike traditional grief, which is prompted by a definitive loss such as death, ambiguous loss leaves individuals suspended in limbo, unable to fully mourn and often excluded from formal grieving rituals. When left unacknowledged, this unresolved emotional state can lead to long-term psychological and relational consequences, such as difficulty achieving closure, feeling isolated and tangled between hope and despair, and experiencing lingering symptoms of grief (Huppertz, 2018).

Amid these challenges, social media has emerged as a key space where marginalized youth process and express grief (Aguilar et al., 2025; Gross, 2023; Patton et al., 2018). With nearly half of Black teens reporting near-constant use of social media (Faverio & Sidoti, 2024), platforms like X (formerly Twitter) have become integral to how youth communicate, form identity, and engage in emotional expression. Although these platforms are often criticized for exacerbating mental health issues in marginalized communities (Faverio et al., 2025), they also offer opportunities for connection, advocacy, and collective mourning. For instance, youth use digital platforms not only to maintain emotional bonds with incarcerated or deceased loved ones but also to engage in public grieving practices that may be unavailable or discouraged offline (Aguilar et al., 2025; Gross, 2023).

Multimodal posts, those that combine text, images, and emojis, frequently reflect identity expression, a desire for belonging, and emotional processing (Allen et al., 2024; Hendriks et al., 2017; Patton et al., 2020). Among these modalities, images are particularly significant. The sharing of photos online, especially those of incarcerated or deceased loved ones, serves as both a form of grief processing and a digital act of memorialization (Aguilar et al., 2025). These two functions are not mutually exclusive; rather, they often happen simultaneously, as grief, as a distinct emotion, lacks boundaries. Memorialization that happens through the sharing of images plays a central role in continuing bonds with the absent, affirming identity, and publicly acknowledging loss (Berzoff, 2011). Yet, despite the visibility of such practices, more research is needed to understand how gang-affiliated youth use images alongside text and emojis to grieve, remember, resist the erasure of their lived experiences, and make meaning in the face of ambiguous loss.

This research builds on a growing body of innovative and interdisciplinary scholarship that explores how gang-affiliated youth use digital platforms to navigate their social realities. Prior studies have shown that these youth use digital spaces to navigate violence and electronic aggression, construct cultural identity, and communicate experiences of grief and loss (Aguilar et al., 2025; Patton et al., 2017; Stuart, 2020; Urbanik & Roks, 2020). Scholars have also emphasized the value of analyzing multimodal posts through both artificial intelligence (AI) and human annotation to better understand how young people process trauma, cope with loss, and express their lived experiences in the context of structural violence (Blandfort et al., 2019). While automated tools can detect patterns at scale, qualitative methods are essential for interpreting the cultural and emotional depth embedded in these posts (Blandfort et al., 2019).

This qualitative study seeks to advance existing scholarship on ambiguous loss by framing incarceration, and the digital sharing of images and content, as a critical, yet often overlooked, way of coping with grief. Specifically, it explores how gang-affiliated Black youth in Chicago navigate incarceration-related grief in digital spaces. Through an analysis of multimodal social media posts, we examine how these youth use platforms like X to maintain bonds with incarcerated loved ones, express emotional pain, and engage in acts of advocacy and remembrance. Guided by Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA) (Brock, 2018) and a strength-based approach (Rashid, 2015), our study centers youth resilience and meaning-making, highlighting how digital media becomes a space for processing ambiguous loss, memorializing loved ones, and cultivating emotional survival. These expressions not only offer insight into their grief but also reveal important connections between their online practices and offline lives. Ultimately, this research challenges the stigma and invisibility surrounding incarceration-related loss and sheds light on its emotional and social dimensions.

Ambiguous Loss, Incarceration, and Systemic Inequities

Research on ambiguous loss has largely focused on cases where a loved one is physically present but psychologically absent, such as in dementia, brain injury, or substance addiction (Boss, 2022). Conversely, it also applies to cases where a loved one is psychologically present but physically absent, as seen in military deployment, migration, or disappearance (Boss, 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed attention to ambiguous loss, highlighting its effects in contexts where separation and uncertainty were heightened (Boss, 2022; Walsh, 2020; Weaver et al., 2022). However, one area that remains underexplored in ambiguous loss research is the grief experienced due to incarceration, a phenomenon disproportionately impacting marginalized communities (Wildeman et al., 2012).

Incarceration represents a distinct form of ambiguous loss in which a loved one is physically absent from friends, family, and community, yet psychologically present, while uncertainty and stigma further complicate the grieving process (Boss, 2022). Families of incarcerated individuals endure prolonged separation, often with restricted communication, which intensifies their grief (Folk et al., 2019). While their loved ones remain psychologically present, the inability to see or speak with them creates a profound void (McLean et al., 2024). The sudden nature of arrests and incarceration further denies families the chance for closure (Masson & Booth, 2024). Unlike traditional mourning, there is no definitive endpoint, as incarceration is temporary yet indefinite, leaving families in a state of unresolved loss. The return of a loved one is uncertain, and when reintegration occurs, the relationship is often altered in profound ways (K. M. King & Delgado, 2021; Masson & Booth, 2024; McLean et al., 2024). For example, incarceration often creates a sense of liminality, wherein incarcerated individuals still exist within their societal, familial, and relationship roles, but are separated and isolated from performing them (Masson & Booth, 2024; Turney, 2015). This liminality can similarly affect relationships both during and after incarceration, creating a ripple effect that leads to unclear roles and destabilized connections. The absence of consistent and accessible communication (Arditti, 2003; McKay et al., 2018), and the additional economic challenges faced by families (McKay et al., 2018) can further strain these relationships.

Loss due to mass incarceration is compounded by systemic inequalities, particularly within Black communities. Nearly seven in 10 people in prison are people of color, and one in 81 Black adults in the U.S. is currently incarcerated (Robey et al., 2023; Roehrkasse & Wildeman, 2022). An estimated one in five Black men born in 2001 will experience imprisonment in their lifetime (Nellis, 2024). These staggering rates highlight that incarceration is not just an individual experience but a generational and communal loss, one that affects families, children, and entire social networks.

Adding to the complexity of ambiguous loss, prisons are designed to disrupt communication and connection rather than sustain relationships. Incarcerated individuals are often placed in facilities far from their communities (Travis et al., 2006), and the cost of communication, such as phone calls and visitation expenses, creates additional barriers (Ingel & Carlisle, 2024). This enforced disconnection amplifies feelings of grief and loss among families, yet their pain remains largely unacknowledged by society. The social recognition and support typically offered to grieving individuals rarely extends to those experiencing loss due to incarceration (McLean et al., 2024; Saunders, 2018). This type of grief remains largely unacknowledged, compounding the already limited societal support for traditional mourning. In addition, the stigma surrounding incarceration further isolates affected individuals, reducing the social networks that might otherwise provide comfort and validation. As a result, families and loved ones are left to navigate their grief in silence, without the communal acknowledgment that often accompanies other forms of loss. Furthermore, the stigma of incarceration complicates how families express grief (Arditti, 2003; K. M. King & Delgado, 2021). Unlike death, where communal support may be extended, incarceration is often shrouded in shame, making the grief not only ambiguous but also disenfranchised (Bailey, 2018).

Social Media as a Space for Processing Ambiguous Loss

Social media has emerged as a vital space for individuals experiencing ambiguous loss to express their grief, maintain connections, and find community support. Earlier studies have shown that people use social media to share status updates and photos as a form of identity expression and social connection (Hendriks et al., 2017; Patton et al., 2018, 2020). As social media use has grown among young people in the U.S. over the past decade (Gottfried, 2024), researchers have started exploring how youth involved in gangs use these digital platforms to form cultural identities and convey feelings of grief and loss (Patton et al., 2017; Stuart, 2020; Urbanik & Roks, 2020). Unlike traditional memorials, which often require social sanctioning (such as funerals or community rituals), social media provides a more personal and accessible space for individuals to mourn. Digital platforms allow users to create informal rituals of remembrance, whether through posting photos, writing messages to the deceased, or engaging in collective mourning through hashtags (Aguilar et al., 2025; Brubaker et al., 2013; Wagner, 2018).

For individuals grieving ambiguous loss due to incarceration, social media may serve as a surrogate for communication that is otherwise restricted. For the loved ones of incarcerated individuals, catharsis may not be possible from direct communication. Instead, social media may serve as a space to commemorate the loss, celebrate their relationship, and express bereavement within their community (Aguilar et al., 2025). By posting messages, images, or digital tributes, users maintain a symbolic connection with their incarcerated loved ones, preserving relationships that are otherwise strained by separation (Moore et al., 2019). Unlike traditional loss, which is often acknowledged with communal support, incarceration-related grief remains stigmatized, making it potentially complex for individuals to openly express their emotions. Social media provides an outlet for unfiltered mourning, where individuals can share their grief without fear of judgment (Aguilar et al., 2025). In addition, these digital spaces create opportunities for community support, allowing people to connect with others who have experienced similar losses, reducing stigma and feelings of isolation, and reinforcing a sense of belonging (Aguilar et al., 2025; Brubaker et al., 2013; Hinck et al., 2019). Thus, social media not only enables public expression of grief that is often denied offline, but also reconfigures how youth engage with loss, identity, and collective memory, especially in communities disproportionately impacted by incarceration.

Black Ambiguous Loss: The Intersection of Historical Trauma, Incarceration, and Community Resilience

The ambiguous loss caused by incarceration is deeply intertwined with historical and intergenerational trauma in Black communities (Henderson et al., 2021). The effects of slavery, segregation, and systemic racism have led to generations of unresolved grief and forced separations (St. Vil et al., 2019). Despite overlapping implications, the fields of intergenerational trauma and ambiguous loss have often evolved in parallel rather than in conversation, leaving important intersections underexplored.

For instance, the inability to trace ancestral lineage due to slavery contributes to a pervasive sense of identity loss (Williams & Bonner, 2024). Families forcibly separated during slavery experienced a profound and unresolved mourning process, as their loved ones were often lost without certainty of reunion (Boss, 2022). This historical trauma reverberates in modern times through mass incarceration, which mirrors the forced family separations of the past while introducing new challenges, such as legal barriers to reunification, social stigma, and disrupted family structures (Alexander, 2020; James, 2021). Yet, despite these persistent losses, Black communities have fostered resilience through collective healing, faith-based institutions, kinship networks, activism, joy, and digital spaces. These sources of strength transform ambiguous loss into solidarity and resistance, allowing grief to be not just a marker of suffering, but also a testament to survival (Turner et al., 2022). Social movements for prison abolition and racial justice further illustrate how collective action serves as both a response to ambiguous loss and a force for systemic change (Proust, 2024).

Thus, ambiguous loss in Black communities is not simply about the absence of an individual, it is about the ongoing absence of justice, security, and recognition. However, through communal resilience and cultural preservation, Black communities continue to navigate grief and loss not only with sorrow, but with defiance, remembrance, joy, and a commitment to healing across generations (Grant et al., 2023). Understanding this broader context is essential for interpreting how digital expressions of grief, such as those analyzed in this study, are embedded in histories of survival, resistance, community, and cultural continuity.

Methods

Our dataset centers on the Twitter communications of Gakirah Barnes, a 17-year-old self-identified female gang member from the South Side of Chicago. She created the account @TyquanAssassin to memorialize her friend Tyquan Tyler, who was killed by a rival gang in 2013. From December 2011 until her tragic death on April 11, 2014, Gakirah posted over 27,000 tweets that candidly documented her daily life, capturing moments of joy, friendship, and humor alongside expressions of trauma, gang violence, and grief.

The data come from a larger corpus developed through an interdisciplinary collaboration between social work scientists and computer scientists, who created a Twitter dataset based on the communications of Gakirah Barnes and individuals in her Twitter network. The team amassed over one million tweets (text and images), from which a smaller, curated subset was created for deeper qualitative analysis and subsequent machine learning annotation.

Our specific corpus comprises 4,936 tweets authored or retweeted by Gakirah, along with 872 tweets from her top 14 communicators and an additional 48 users who frequently interacted with her or exhibited similar affiliations. Covering the years 2014 to 2017, this dataset offers insight into the social media behaviors and offline experiences of gang-affiliated youth during that time.

The dataset was initially annotated to support the development of computer vision and natural language processing models aimed at identifying expressions of grief, trauma, and violence (Blandfort et al., 2019; Patton et al., 2020). Annotation was carried out by social work students with extensive experience studying Gakirah Barnes and affiliated Chicago gangs. To enhance their understanding of the linguistic, social, and cultural context of the data, annotators were trained by domain experts, including women, men, and youth of color with lived experience or direct connections to gang-involved communities in Chicago, Illinois (Patton et al., 2020).

In this qualitative study, we analyzed a subset of 700 multimodal posts, including selfies, group photos, screenshots, portraits, emojis, and text, to explore how youth in Chicago neighborhoods marked by high levels of incarceration and gun violence navigate ambiguous loss. This multimodal corpus forms the empirical foundation of our study and guides our use of CTDA, a framework that examines the intersection of power, technology, and culture in digital communication (Brock, 2018). Social media platforms enable users to share real-time updates about their emotions with friends and family. These digital spaces create opportunities to express grief and feel heard, opportunities that may be limited offline due to the lack of available or close social support. Platform affordances such as hashtags and image-sharing features allow users to convey emotion concisely, connect through shared rituals, and ensure that expressions of loss remain searchable and visible over time. Regardless of time, location, or material resources, social media provides a means for users to express their grief and cultivate a sense of belonging and community. However, these same platforms can also constrain users’ ability to process grief. For instance, posts expressing grief may attract negative or hostile comments. More critically, grieving posts by Black and Latino users are often misinterpreted by criminal legal actors as threatening, leading to heightened surveillance or increased system contact. Multimodal posts, which combine text, images, and emojis, offer valuable insight into how marginalized youth represent relationships, trauma, identity, and strengths across online and offline contexts (Aguilar et al., 2025). By focusing on posts from Gakirah Barnes and her extended social network, this research seeks to deepen understanding of how youth impacted by structural violence use digital platforms to process grief, maintain social bonds, and advocate for the release of incarcerated loved ones.

X Users and Posts (Participants and Procedure)

To build the dataset, researchers undertook several steps. Between December 2019 and March 2020, social work researchers first identified a corpus of 700 multimodal posts to better understand how gang-affiliated youth in Chicago use images and other media to express their experiences online. Two social work scientists then conducted a detailed analysis of these posts to identify content specifically related to loss and ambiguous loss. Next, the researchers added multimodal posts to the dataset after confirming their meaning with previously coded qualitative labels of loss from Master of Social Work Students and youth domain experts. Youth domain experts drew on their lived experience and familiarity with the community to provide context on local language, the contemporary meaning of emojis, and cultural nuances of life in Chicago to the multimodal posts within the dataset. Finally, we identified 65 multimodal posts from 47 users representing various aspects of ambiguous loss and incarceration for further qualitative exploration. Having been unable to confirm the gendered identity of the user posting the multimodal posts, the authors used visual and textual clues in the X profile and posts when using gendered pronouns.

We employed CTDA to qualitatively explore how gang-affiliated youth from Chicago post and share their experiences with resilience and grief in digital spaces (please see Figure 1). An important aspect of CTDA is that it is designed to be open to any critical cultural theoretical framework, given that the same approach is practiced when analyzing elements of communication technologies, digital content, software, and the dialogue of its online users (Brock, 2018).

Figure 1.

Conceptual framework for analyzing multimodal posts using CTDA.

CTDA combines the analysis of (1) information technology material (i.e. multimodal posts), (2) virtual design (e.g. X), and (3) inquiry into the production of meaning through information technology practice and the expression of information technology by users within digital spaces (Brock, 2018). CTDA enables researchers to engage in critical perspective and to consider a strength-based approach and ambiguous loss to interrogate the offline power relations that impact how gang-affiliated Black Chicago youth use multimodal posts to express their strengths and experiences and manifestations of grief in their online worlds. Thus, an important aspect of CTDA involves understanding Chicago gang culture and its interaction with Twitter during the 2011–2014 period, when Gakirah was actively posting. This era also marked the rise of Drill Rap, a subgenre of hip-hop known for its confrontational lyrics that depicted street life on Chicago’s South Side (Agrelo, 2025). The music was highly localized, often referring to specific street corners and gang-affiliated individuals. This localization extended to digital spaces, inspiring web series such as The War in Chiraq, which provided updates on South Side gang activities using drill music and social media posts as evidence (Evans, 2024). The year 2011 also coincided with a significant increase in Twitter usage, reaching 140 million tweets per day, double the daily volume from 2010 (O’Regan, 2018). The growing prevalence of mobile phones enabled users to access social media anytime and anywhere, while applications like Instagram allowed them to capture and share photos directly from their phones. As a result, smartphones made it possible for users to document their lives beyond traditional desktop settings, in all spaces they inhabit, not just their school or home (O’Regan, 2018).

Throughout the analysis of the multimodal posts, a strength-based approach and ambiguous loss guided the researchers (Cheng, 2001; Rashid, 2015). Despite the challenges of living in communities with high rates of violence, many young people demonstrate resilience, drawing upon personal and communal resources to navigate trauma, grief, and loss (Rashid, 2015). In applying a strength-based approach and ambiguous loss theory with CTDA, we were able to examine and take into account various power dynamics and community strengths that influence the multimodal posts from gang-affiliated youth in Chicago. This approach offered a holistic analysis of the interactions between social structures, cultural ideology, and technology practice (Brock, 2018).

Data Analysis

The data analysis for this research commenced before Twitter’s transition to X, addressing the distinctive nature of our multimodal dataset, which included images, text, and emojis. We employed a comprehensive three-stage analysis process to examine the data and applied CTDA to identify and generate themes and categories. Our multi-step analysis involved numerous strategies to scrutinize our biases and assumptions. During the initial stages of photo review, we convened weekly to discuss and process complex feelings related to the dataset.

At Stage 1, three researchers independently conducted open coding sessions to familiarize themselves with the dataset. This involved multiple rounds of detailed examination of the posts to uncover various meanings and identify initial patterns. Researchers focused on developing a deep understanding of the data, which led to the creation of initial themes such as “advocacy” and “incarceration.” The process included identifying key themes, noting areas of ambiguity, and discussing these with the broader research team to refine our coding framework and establish a robust coding scheme.

In Stage 2, we explored and analyzed the 68 X posts and identified and shared individual process recordings regarding potential themes. The process allowed researchers to capture key concepts and generate initial themes by reordering and regrouping the X posts. Researchers became accustomed to the data by continuing weekly meetings and re-classified central themes (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Discussion guided themes’ addition, removal, and modification as the analysis continued. Researchers spent several hours a week for 2 years exchanging process notes, which promoted definitional modifications of the themes from the original coding scheme. This process enabled researchers to constantly reflect on themes and definitions until an agreement was reached.

In Stage 3, the research team worked together to consolidate and finalize the list of central themes. Through comprehensive discussions, modifications were made, and a consensus was reached to accurately capture how ambiguous loss is expressed through the multimodal posts in our dataset (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Please see Figure 2 below for a visual representation of the three-phase data analysis strategy.

Figure 2.

Three-phase qualitative analysis process of multimodal posts.

Ethics

This study received Institutional Review Board approval from the University, where the principal investigator was an assistant professor. We recognize the potential misuse of social media data to criminalize marginalized communities, particularly communities of color. Therefore, our ethical commitment involves continuous, proactive efforts and considerations to minimize potential harm that could negatively impact the communities we engaged with and the data we collected. To uphold the values of social work and our research lab, we committed to maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the social media users studied. Researchers signed an ethical agreement and de-identified the multimodal posts by blurring faces and other identifying features in photos used for presenting our research. Furthermore, we modified social media content and user handles to enhance users’ privacy and confidentiality. All usernames were replaced with pseudonyms that do not correspond to the original accounts, and post content was lightly edited when necessary (including adjustments to slang, emojis, or phrasing) to prevent re-identification while preserving meaning and cultural style. For example, a handle like @LilTone088 might appear in our dataset as @YoungTone23. These pseudonyms and content edits were designed to obscure identity while retaining the discursive feel of the posts (e.g. slang, nicknames, numeric tags, or expressive symbols). Although X data are public, investing in measures to de-identify users’ identities is essential, as their past online involvement may negatively impact their lives and families today.

While we modified usernames and blurred identifying details for all accounts in our dataset, we made one exception in referencing Gakirah Barnes. Barnes was a well-known public figure in Chicago whose Twitter account and death have been the focus of extensive public scholarship and journalism (Wikipedia Contributors, n.d.). Because she is deceased, direct consultation was not possible. However, her case provides important historical and cultural context for understanding the wider multimodal dataset. All other users were de-identified.

Findings

Our analysis demonstrates how gang-affiliated youth experiencing ambiguous loss engage on X to post multimodal posts to advocate for and memorialize loved ones who are incarcerated. It allows them to address, reflect on, or share their thoughts and experiences with their online community, thus creating an online connection with those no longer physically present due to incarceration.

Two central themes were generated from the analysis of the posts:

1. Collective Advocacy and Ambiguous Loss: Navigating Incarceration Through Community Solidarity; We identified 19 multimodal posts that aligned with this theme, which we defined as displaying collective language and/or pictures of a group of three or more people while advocating for the release of a friend or family member who is incarcerated. The collective advocacy not only serves as a rallying cry for justice but also illuminates the experience of ambiguous loss within communities affected by incarceration. This strength-based approach empowers individuals to channel their grief into meaningful action, by fostering solidarity and shared resilience, transforming pain into advocacy, and reinforcing the power of community support.

2. Commemorating Absence: Ambiguous Loss and Event-Based Memorialization in the Context of Incarceration; 11 Multimodal posts were identified that acknowledge the time (1 year, 1 month) or important events (i.e. birthday, holidays, anniversary) that remind users of the incarceration of a friend or family member. While some posts may overlap in content, these distinctions enabled researchers to categorize posts by users’ intent and emphasis, highlighting the multifaceted nature of ambiguous loss in the digital realm. This theme underscores the power in nostalgic appreciation and collective reflection, allowing individuals and communities to honor their loved ones while maintaining their emotional connections and resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Collective Advocacy and Ambiguous Loss- Navigating Incarceration Through Community Solidarity:

This theme encompasses posts, where users employ collective language and group images (featuring three or more people) to advocate for the release of an incarcerated, loved one. In the post below (see Figure 3), the user @Liltoine088 visited his friends who are incarcerated and is advocating for their release.

Figure 3.

Collective advocacy and incarceration-related ambiguous loss.

This post displays an image of a group of incarcerated individuals posing for a picture during a visit by @Liltoine088 in the visitation area of the prison. The image depicts three individuals wearing prison uniforms, standing shoulder to shoulder, showing solidarity and unity despite the challenging circumstances.

@Liltoine088 relays a message from the incarcerated group to “be up on it” to the community which means to stay vigilant and aware as to not be victimized by rivals or the police. This statement highlights how ambiguous loss is not only experienced by individuals outside the justice system as they worry about the physical and mental well-being of their incarcerated loved ones, but also by those who are incarcerated. It emphasizes how incarcerated individuals often worry about the safety and welfare of friends and family who navigate challenges such as racism and community violence. Moreover, institutions such as prisons and jails often restrict the lines of communication for those experiencing incarceration, leaving them and their loved ones without certainty or clarity about their loved one’s whereabouts, condition, or cognition (Dholakia, 2022). Paired with a photo, this sentiment uniquely reflects ambiguous loss, as community members grapple with concerns for incarcerated individuals while facing their own struggles. Communication between incarcerated individuals and their families and friends is often limited, prompting loved ones to visit in person to seek closure, maintain connection, and check on their well-being. In turn, incarcerated individuals also experience ambiguous loss, as they are unable to confirm the safety and well-being of their family and friends in the community. This multimodal tweet underscores how ambiguous loss is a shared, ongoing concern for gang-affiliated youth and their families, both inside and outside prison walls. The collective aspect of the photograph showing three incarcerated friends receiving the same visitor is rare, as visits are usually reserved for a single individual.

The photo shows the group’s collective resilience in staying together even through the challenges of community life and incarceration, reinforcing the strength of social bonds despite systemic barriers. This act of visitation and advocacy highlights how families and communities actively resist isolation by showing up, maintaining connections, and ensuring that incarcerated individuals remain visible and supported. In his post, @Liltoine088 concludes with a heartfelt plea for the release of his friends by stating, “free ndawg trippy and red.” This advocacy highlights the ongoing efforts of those on the outside to fight for the freedom of their incarcerated loved ones, keeping their memory and presence alive within the community, as well as is a display of resistance toward the stigma of incarceration by showing up and visiting ndawg, trippy and red while letting the community know about their well-being.

Another display of Collective Advocacy was posted by @AEK_nem (see Figure 4) who shared a photo of his cousin who is currently incarcerated.

Figure 4.

Sustaining bonds through shared memory and digital advocacy.

In this photo, three men are gathered outside on a hot day, relaxing with drinks, while one holds a blunt. The image captures a fond memory of their time together, enjoying each other’s company within the community.

@AEK_nem exemplifies this aspect of ambiguous loss as he expresses his deep appreciation and longing for his incarcerated cousin to return home by saying, “Free big Cuzz” and calling him “a real one.” The use of two sad face emojis () and two lock emojis () signifies the emotional toll and ongoing struggle @AEK_nem faces due to his cousin’s incarceration. The lock emojis further emphasize the desire for his cousin’s freedom. For individuals like @AEK_nem, who experience ambiguous loss due to the incarceration of a loved one, using images and memories alongside present-day emotions underscores the profound impact of this type of loss, the uncertainty it brings, and the importance of maintaining connection. This photo, paired with the heartfelt message, highlights the theme of collective advocacy by showcasing the enduring strength of relationships despite the challenges of incarceration. By sharing these moments publicly, @AEK_nem not only honors his cousin’s presence but also reinforces their deep-rooted ties that persist despite physical separation. This intentional act of remembrance and advocacy transforms loss into a source of strength, mobilizing support and solidarity within the community. It captures the significance of cherished moments of togetherness and the community’s ongoing efforts to advocate for the release and reunion of their loved ones. Multimodal posts navigate the duality of ambiguous loss, on the one hand, reflecting pain and grief, and on the other, celebrating joy, connection, and community.

In this multimodal post, @Knockrun shares a photo of a young woman taking a selfie with him and his friends (see Figure 5). The caption, “Free young shorty ,” expresses a call for the release of an incarcerated friend while conveying determination and solidarity. The use of the emoji emphasizes conviction and emotional urgency, reinforcing the post’s advocacy tone. This instance stands out within the dataset as one of the few examples referencing a female friend, underscoring how digital advocacy and expressions of ambiguous loss are not limited to male relationships. By centering a woman within this act of public justice, the post broadens the understanding of relational networks and care that intersect within these online and offline communities. Together, the image and caption reaffirm social bonds, demonstrating how users transform advocacy into an enduring expression of connection and communal resilience despite incarceration-related separation.

Figure 5.

Collective advocacy and the maintenance of social bonds online.

Commemorating Absence: Ambiguous Loss and Event-Based Memorialization in the Context of Incarceration:

Multimodal posts that acknowledge the time (1 year, 1 month) or important events (i.e. birthday, anniversary, holiday, date of incarceration) that remind users of the incarceration of a friend or family member.

@$tate_mob post (see Figure 6) reflects a memory based on events as it references the year that has passed since his friend DINERO was incarcerated.

Figure 6.

Event-based memorialization and expressions of loyalty.

The aspect of advocacy is not only displayed by the text “free big bro,” a phrase that advocates for freedom and solidarity with those who are incarcerated, but also is illuminated by the photograph of two smiling young men standing close together in front of parked vehicles, capturing a moment of friendship and connection. DINERO is the individual on the right dressed in a Chicago Bulls jacket, jeans, and sneakers. He has his right arm affectionately draped over the shoulder of his friend @$tate_mob, who is dressed more formally, perhaps for an event like prom or graduation, indicating a significant occasion in their lives. The background of the photo includes several parked cars with other residents observing the celebrations of such an occasion. The expressions on their faces reflect a moment of pride and mutual respect, encapsulating their strong bond.

The content from this post references the birthday of DINERO. Two sad face emoji are then presented to highlight how @$tate_mob is still mourning the loss of DINERO to incarceration. This is also an example of ambiguous loss as @$tate_mob may be uncertain about the well-being of DINERO as he expresses directly to his incarcerated friend to remind him and the community about his ongoing commitment and loyalty with the phrase, “Ima hold you down on errything I luv,” signifying his promise to support and remember his friend despite the physical separation caused by incarceration. The use of the term “big bro” emphasizes the familial-like bond between them, further underlining the personal impact of his friend’s absence. The picture also highlights the intersectional identities of young people on the South Side of Chicago. Although young people have to navigate many challenges in the community and even if they are at different stages in their life, they also engage in efforts to celebrate, enjoy, and participate in community-building activities such as school dances or graduations. This post not only mourns an absence but also serves as a declaration of resilience and determination, demonstrating how young people actively sustain relationships, preserve shared histories, and uplift one another despite systemic barriers such as incarceration. The act of publicly commemorating DINERO’s birthday transforms grief into an expression of loyalty and advocacy, ensuring that his presence remains alive in the community.

This photo, coupled with the emotional text, serves as a powerful testament to the enduring relationships and memories that persist even in the face of incarceration. It reflects the theme of Memorialization Based on Events, as it commemorates the significant time that has passed and the continued emotional connection and advocacy for the friend’s release.

Another instance of event-based memorialization appears in a post shared by @KING_Court (see Figure 7), who honors the birthday of an incarcerated friend through an image that conveys care and enduring connection.

Figure 7.

Event-based memorialization through care and connection.

This multimodal post blends feelings of shock, nostalgia, and justice. The photo displays an embrace between a woman and a man posing together shared by @King_Court, who highlights her friend using crutches. Despite his injury, he maintains a positive attitude, holding up a hand signal to show his resilience. @KING_Court highlights the truthfulness of the statement with the phrase “that’s on everything” with the emoji, noting that they are willing to defend this statement at all costs. The caption, both joyful and emphatic, anchors the emotional importance of memory and ritual. @KING_Court celebrates a friend’s life while acknowledging their absence and hopes for them to return home through the phrase “Free my bro.” The joyful tone and expressive emojis () counterbalance the heaviness of incarceration, embodying the dual affective states of pain and nostalgia and integrity.

Through this post, @KING_Court demonstrates how youth use social media to weave together care, advocacy, and emotional endurance. The combination of text and image affirms that love and solidarity persist despite physical separation, showing how digital platforms enable the transformation of grief into resilience and ongoing presence. Similarly, user @c_grove2600 (see Figure 8) exemplifies the absence of his friend in a post that acknowledges the birthday of SLIM who is incarcerated.

Figure 8.

Event-based memorialization through collective childhood memory.

This post was motivated by the birthday of Slim, who is incarcerated. The post depicts an image of four young children with content stating “#4323 real PROJECT shit” followed by a 100 emoji signifying that the statement is one of truth and authenticity. The 100 emoji, combined with the text and photo, underscores the deep bond and pride these men share, rooted in their lifelong connection and memories of growing up in Chicago housing projects. The photo features children playing and posing in a hallway framed by a fence, a common feature of such Chicago housing developments, initially designed to prevent garbage from being thrown into the yard but evoking the appearance of a prison tier, which may have shaped the residents’ experiences (Venkatesh, 2010). Despite this, the image captures a joyful moment of children playing, relaxed and connected. Three boys wear matching dark green and white clothing, while the youngest child, dressed in blue, clings to an older sibling for the photo. The older child holds a stuffed animal, a symbol of childhood innocence. The physical photograph, likely preserved over the years, amplifies its sentimental value and the depth of the connection they share. It monuments their childhood, reflecting on how life was different when they were young, and their unwavering pride in the community where they grew up, a community now lost due to the demolition of Chicago housing developments (Venkatesh, 2010).

The text highlights how @c_grove2600 memorializes the depth of friendship he and his friends all share and uses this collective experience to wish their friend SLIM a happy birthday and to express how much he is missed. Moreover, the user @c_grove2600 is advocating for the release of SLIM from incarceration with the statement “free SLIM we gon be there wen u out”, vowing that the friend group will continue to support him and will be there when he is released. This open declaration of loyalty and remembrance transforms a moment of personal grief into an act of solidarity, reinforcing the strength of their shared history and their commitment to one another despite experiences of incarceration. By centering their collective identity and ongoing support, this post illustrates how friendships and community ties endure, providing a source of resilience in the face of societal inequities.

While SLIM may never see this post, @c_grove2600 leverages the online platform to process, cope, and express his feelings of ambiguous loss. Ultimately, the photo and post preserve a sense of meaning and closeness in their relationship, serving as a poignant reminder of enduring friendships and memories that surpass the barriers of incarceration while emphasizing themes of loyalty, remembrance, and advocacy.

Discussion

Our analysis of multimodal posts suggests that youth, who are affiliated with gangs, experience ambiguous loss, due to the incarceration of loved ones, navigate grief in unique ways. Their Twitter posts advocate for their loved ones’ release, highlight their strengths and personal qualities, memorialize them through significant events, and help preserve a sense of connection.

Utilizing CTDA and guided by a strength-based approach, which emphasizes individuals’ strengths and positive qualities (Rashid, 2015), as well as the framework of ambiguous loss, we examined how these youth draw on enduring relationships and moments of joy to memorialize their incarcerated loved ones and process grief within their communities. Although the incarcerated individuals who are the subjects of the posts may not immediately view them, sharing emotions and experiences on X are often seen by others in the community and may aid in a modicum of healing. Similar research has demonstrated that sharing experiences of ambiguous loss due to a loved one’s incarceration can help individuals navigate challenges while fostering a sense of safety and protection (K. King et al., 2024). CTDA enabled us to critically explore the interactions between text, images, and emojis in these digital memorials by better understanding how language, visual cues, community dynamics, and strengths construct meaning. It also highlights how digital platform affordances, such as design features and visibility, shape what forms of grief expression are possible or constrained, illustrating how user practices and platform structures, as well as norms and platform culture, co-produce digital expressions of ambiguous loss. For example, the recurrent use of the word “free” as a hashtag or caption, often paired with emojis such as , demonstrates how individuals leverage the platform’s features and affordances to advocate for loved ones and preserve visibility. This approach sheds light on how marginalized youth use social media to signal grief, maintain emotional ties, and mobilize support within their communities. Social media allows users to address, reflect on, and share their thoughts and experiences with their online community, thus creating a virtual connection with those no longer physically present (Aguilar et al., 2025).

Study findings illuminated how incarceration produces feelings of grief for users and their communities. Incarceration-centered ambiguous loss is a recurring theme in our data, as many posts reference the absence of incarcerated loved ones such as fathers, brothers, and close friends. This pattern reflects broader structural realities. Although Black men make up only about 13% of the U.S. male population, they represent 37% of the total male prison population (Wang, 2023). These disproportionate incarceration rates increase the likelihood that youth in predominantly Black communities will experience ambiguous loss as a result of the carceral system. Our results highlight how Black youth in Chicago used Twitter to post photos of incarcerated loved ones to advocate for their release, express support, and maintain relational ties. For instance, users shared multimodal posts calling for the release of an incarcerated friend or family member, often using collective and supportive language alongside images. These posts are strength-based, emphasizing resilience, communal care, and active advocacy. These posts also emphasized the enduring collective bond among friends and family, even when one of them is experiencing incarceration. By publicly expressing solidarity and maintaining connections, users reinforce their commitment to their loved ones, demonstrating how relationships and communal ties persist despite physical separation. Research indicates that individuals facing ambiguous loss due to incarceration often encounter stigma (K. King et al., 2024). However, our findings suggest that social media can help mitigate this stigma by publicly vocalizing advocacy and loss due to incarceration, serving as an act of resistance against the silence imposed by stigma. In addition, it may foster a collective language around policy changes that are important to various marginalized groups. Advocacy for the release of incarcerated loved ones extends the scholarship, demonstrating how communities affected by the criminal justice system engage in collective efforts to drive systemic change and improve their living conditions (Pinto et al., 2014). By using digital platforms to share experiences and support one another, individuals reinforce their agency, resilience, and commitment to maintaining meaningful connections despite systemic barriers.

According to past literature, those suffering from ambiguous loss due to having an incarcerated loved one have noted how their loved ones are a constant presence in their lives, even though they were physically absent (Knight & Gitterman, 2019; Luther, 2015). Our findings build upon the idea of memorialization by extending it to social media platforms. Multimodal posts celebrating important and joyful moments related to incarcerated loved ones may serve as opportunities to seek and offer support pertaining to ambiguous loss and to remind that the individual incarcerated is not forgotten. This practice reflects a strength-based and growth-oriented framework by shifting the focus from absence to continued presence, reinforcing the enduring impact of relationships despite incarceration. By publicly sharing milestones through posts and photos, families and friends assert their connection, ensuring that their loved ones are remembered and remain integrated into family and community life. People experiencing incarceration continuously struggle with the thought that they are forgotten and not seen (Walker, 2022). Furthermore, for Black individuals and communities experiencing the compression of time due to systemic oppression and socio-economic challenges (Mahadeo, 2019), memorializing essential and joyful events may serve as a means of reclaiming lost time. Through these digital expressions, individuals navigate loss in a way that fosters resilience, adaptation, and collective strength (Allen et al., 2024), countering the isolation imposed by incarceration. The continuation of celebrations and rituals can aid with a sense of adaptation, flexibility, and the presence of strength within the family and community (Boss, 2010).

Implications

Our findings provide valuable insights for developing prevention and intervention strategies aimed at supporting gang-affiliated youth who are experiencing grief and ambiguous loss due to incarceration. Social workers, school staff, and other professionals working directly with gang-affiliated youth should collaborate with them to create effective methods for processing ambiguous loss. We recommend utilizing client-centered and trauma-informed frameworks that are synonymous with strength-based approaches when developing digital platforms. Such efforts can help foster opportunities for social support from other bereaved individuals, which has been shown to improve outcomes for those experiencing ambiguous loss (Luther, 2015). These spaces may be especially important for individuals who face significant barriers to accessing in-person mental health services (e.g. travel, child care, and safety). It is important that we take a strengths-based approach when considering technological interventions to support those who are incarcerated. For instance, the popular podcast Ear Hustle (n.d.) gives listeners insights into the real and untragic experiences of life inside prison as well as post-incarceration stories. The findings also highlight the need to bridge the digital divide within prisons by providing internet access to incarcerated individuals (Community Tech Network, 2024). This emphasizes the importance of innovative digital solutions that meaningfully connect incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. For instance, Ameelio, a communications and education technology company, recently signed contracts with the state prison systems in Colorado and Iowa to pilot a free-to-use program helping families sustain relationships with incarcerated loved ones (Zabasajja, 2021).

The findings also highlight the importance of using qualitative methodologies when analyzing social media data (Aguilar et al., 2025). By employing these approaches, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of how youth express their grief and maintain connections with loved ones who are no longer physically present due to ambiguous loss from incarceration.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. First, our research is centered on Black gang-affiliated youth from Chicago and their use of multimodal posts to cope with ambiguous loss due to incarceration. Future research should expand this scope to include youth from other racial and ethnic backgrounds and different geographical areas to understand potential cultural and regional variations in online grieving practices. In addition, exploring other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat could reveal different modalities of expressing grief and ambiguous loss, as each platform has unique features and user interactions. A notable limitation of our study is the reliance on analyzing posts without direct communication with the users. Although the researchers bring extensive experience working with youth and gang-affiliated individuals, our interpretations of the posts might not fully capture the users’ intended meanings. Engaging directly with the youth would provide richer, more nuanced insights into their experiences and the ways they use social media to navigate ambiguous loss. Finally, our study does not include longitudinal data, which limits our ability to observe changes and developments in online grieving practices over time. Future research should incorporate long-term studies to track how expressions of grief and responses to ambiguous loss evolve, providing a deeper understanding of these processes among gang-affiliated youth.

Conclusion

Ambiguous loss provides a framework for understanding grief related to incarceration, systemic oppression, and historical trauma. Unlike traditional loss, which follows a linear path to closure, ambiguous loss remains unresolved, requiring individuals to adapt in unique ways. A strength-based approach is important in examining ambiguous loss, as it highlights how individuals and communities maintain connections, preserve relationships, and navigate uncertainty. Social media has become a critical tool for expressing and processing this grief, particularly where formal recognition is lacking. However, research on incarceration-related ambiguous loss remains limited, warranting further exploration into how digital spaces reshape mourning practices for disenfranchised grief. This research underscores the need for qualitative approaches to understand online grief expression and develop support strategies that address these challenges. Future studies should expand to diverse populations and platforms to deepen insight into how youth navigate loss in the digital age.