Establishing a Digital Belonging

Abstract

A sense of belonging is one of the most important human needs. Immigrants might experience this differently because they tend to feel a lack of belonging to their host or home country. Nowadays, however, social media allows immigrants and diasporic groups to establish a digital sense of belonging. Members of the Turkish diaspora in Germany are inclined to use social media, especially Facebook, as a platform to connect with their roots, be informed about Turkish news, prove their Turkishness, and provide solidarity for each other. For this paper, we interviewed fifteen Turkish-Germans to get some insight into their perceptions about developing a digital belonging to Turkey through Facebook. We used discourse analysis to analyse their statements. The results suggest that Facebook allows Turkish-Germans to develop a digital belonging to Turkey through its specific features; however, it decreases their sense of belonging to Germany, as stated in the interviews.