When a technology is implemented, it is possible to observe social and cultural uses that were not intended by the inventors or producers of that technology.

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In Brazil there are more smartphones than there are inhabitants. From a case study, this project addresses criminal uses of smartphones and social media in Brazil. Departing from criminal sociology, media ecology and social interaction theories, it was observed the criminal uses of streaming videos on Web and media News. Using criminal slang, nicknames, and coded words on social media, drug lords can command organizations, order and demand evidences of murders, arrange drug deliveries and acquisition of guns even while incarcerated.

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A particularly terrible form of crime using smartphones and terror from inside prisons concerns the filming and social network posting of murder acts. A number of such streaming of crimes were analyzed, as well as the news concerning them and the comments left by readers. The social uses of smartphones in Brazil tells a lot about Brazilian society and culture itself.