Transnational identities and digital media: the digitalisation of Italian Diaspora in London

Abstract

Digital media and mobile technologies have allowed migrants to keep in touch with family and friends across the world. On the one hand, the fact that communication is no longer limited to the individual’s offline networks means that moving to another country is no longer associated with isolation. On the other hand, new developments in information and communication technologies are transforming the experience of migration with implications for sociality, identity, and political and cultural involvement. In this article I will explore how new transnational cultures are being initiated through the consumption of digital media, and how media consumption is specifically shaping Italian diaspora in London. Based on ethnographic data and participant observation, I intend to address two key points: first, to what extent media improve immigrants’ transnational experience by affecting their quality of life; second, and more widely, whether or not media can affect the process of integration between diasporic communities and host countries. An investigation of the concept of Transnational Virtual Communities of Immigrants (VTCI) will also help to define new directions for future research.