Virtual Belongings, Dual Identities and Cultural Discomforts. The role of Mediaspaces and Technospaces in the Integration of Migrants

Valeria Bello
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引用次数: 5

Abstract

There are indications from both everyday practice and relevant scholarship that new media play a significant role in affecting both the formation and management of dual identities1 for migrants. Nevertheless, there is currently no scientific work that has empirically investigated the effect that new communication tools have on questions of dual identities, and cultural distress more generally. Therefore, an investigation of the impact of new media and technologies (such as free Internet video-calls), both on the integration of immigrants into host societies and the perceptions that those left behind form about destination countries, is timely. This article attempts to address this research gap both by drawing on the results of studies in different fields of research and by confirming consequent assumptions through a qualitative analysis of the usage of new technologies. Different disciplinary studies have demonstrated that those who are able to manage the mechanisms embedded in the formation of dual identity more successfully also experience less cultural discomfort and, consequently, show better patterns of integration in host societies (Butcher 2009; Nowicka 2007; Portes et al. 1999). Following these paths of research, the present study claims that frequent contact with those left behind can both drastically change perceptions of alienation and the cultural distress that immigrants might suffer when they settle in receiving countries, as well as influence the related perceptions that loved ones who are left behind form of destinations. That is, a better management of dual identity issues and the subsequent more successful integration of migrants could also positively influence the views of those persons in the communities of origin with whom they stay in contact through these new communication tools. Therefore, the consequences of using these new media and technologies in terms of both immigrants’ integration and the pictures that those left behind get of host countries will be the main focus of this article. Furthermore, an analysis of the images that companies employ in order to publicize free online video-call software contributes to an understanding of the target market that these companies have, and the needs that they envisage for their users. Thus, these images help us to consider whether the usage of these tools can indeed be related to migratory issues. In addition, an analysis of semi-structured interviews with migrants using free online video-calls will offer an in-depth insight into the effects of using these new communication tools for both the management of dual identities and the integration of immigrants.
虚拟财产、双重身份与文化不适。媒体空间和技术空间在移民融合中的作用
日常实践和相关学术研究都表明,新媒体在影响移民双重身份的形成和管理方面发挥了重要作用。然而,目前还没有科学研究实证研究新的交流工具对双重身份问题的影响,以及更普遍的文化困扰。因此,调查新媒体和新技术(如免费网络视频电话)对移民融入东道国社会的影响,以及移民对目的地国形成的看法,是及时的。本文试图通过借鉴不同研究领域的研究结果和通过对新技术使用的定性分析来确认随之而来的假设来解决这一研究差距。不同学科的研究表明,那些能够更成功地管理双重身份形成机制的人,也会经历更少的文化不适,因此,在东道国社会中表现出更好的融合模式(Butcher 2009;Nowicka 2007;Portes et al. 1999)。根据这些研究路径,本研究声称,与留守者的频繁接触既可以极大地改变移民在接收国定居时可能遭受的疏离感和文化困扰,也可以影响留守者的亲人对目的地的相关看法。也就是说,更好地处理双重身份问题以及随后使移徙者更成功地融入社会,也可能对通过这些新的通讯工具与他们保持联系的原籍社区中那些人的看法产生积极影响。因此,使用这些新媒体和新技术对移民融合的影响,以及那些留在东道国的人得到的照片,将是本文的主要焦点。此外,对公司为宣传免费在线视频通话软件而使用的图像进行分析有助于了解这些公司的目标市场,以及他们为用户设想的需求。因此,这些图像帮助我们考虑这些工具的使用是否确实与迁移问题有关。此外,对使用免费在线视频电话与移民进行的半结构化访谈的分析将深入了解使用这些新的通信工具对双重身份管理和移民融合的影响。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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