I contend that the growth of social networking services, social capital, and the cultural and political participation of diasporic communities within and across nation-state borders are empowered by Internet-based technological affordances such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter. The use of communication technologies such as satellite television and the Internet, particularly social networking services – more commonly referred to as social media – is increasing among diasporan communities to strengthen social ties and foster the development of transnational social fields that create greater social networks, social capital, a cultural community, as well as greater opportunities for political engagement within and across national boundaries (Keles, 2016). Communication and interaction between stateless diasporic groups and individuals have changed significantly due to the revolution in information and communications technology (ICT) (Barassi, 2015). Howard (2011) observes that the language of the diaspora is increasingly invoked by displaced people who feel connected (preserving, reviving, inventing) to a former homeland. This sense of connectedness must be strong enough not to be erased by the normalising processes of forgetting, adjusting, and distancing. Many minority groups that did not previously identify themselves in this way are now reclaiming their origins and belonging to the diaspora. Diaspora groups, which usually take the form of diaspora communities, place migrants at the centre of complex transnational networks, fostering economic ties, preserving family connections, weaving cross-cultural identities, or collecting pieces of collective memory (Marlowe, Bartley, & Collins, 2017). In today’s digital age, diasporas are fuelled by an infinite flow of digital content in the form of text messages, social media footprints, for example, which are rooted in daily activities or provoked by historic events which include elections, refugee crises, natural disasters, to name a few (Levitt, 2001). The compression of time and space is made possible by Internet-mediated social networking services, allowing diasporic groups to participate in the politics of places in real time, despite physically being far away in the country they have assimilated into (Titifanue, Varea, Varea, Kant, & Finau, 2018).
The Internet-mediated social networking services, more commonly referred to as social media, are utilised to build relationships with other people who share a common interest, background, or genuine relationship. Users of social networking services create a profile with personal information and photos and connect to other profiles. Waterloo, Baumgartner, Peter, and Valkenburg (2018) observes that these users then use their connections to grow relationships through sharing, email, instant messaging, and commenting. Social media plays a critical role in the development of migrant cultural identity and in its political potential within the conceptual framework of the digital diaspora (Alsaleh, Elliott, Fu, & Thakur, 2019). Immigrants today have fundamentally transformed the lives of not only themselves, but also the societies into which they have assimilated (Levitt, 2001). Consequently, a new generation of transnational families and communities has emerged with high levels of mobility. This includes literature that demonstrates how communities can use the Internet-mediated social networking services to share information, preserve stories, generate diasporic identities, and share resources that can enable the realisation of collective political and social causes (Srinivasan, 2006). Facebook allows users to communicate and share videos, images and links with other users identified as friends. According to Facebook, it is the most popular social media site with more than a billion users, with most having a personal account that they use to connect with friends and family members (Al-Bahrani & Patel, 2015). Instagram and Twitter have the same operational structure with one small difference. The most obvious difference is in the shared content. Instagram is a photo sharing platform. Video sharing features have recently been introduced and video length is limited to a maximum of 15 seconds. Posts are accompanied by a caption. Unlike Twitter, the length of the subtitles is not limited. Hashtag and username functionality is identical to usage on Twitter (Leaver, Highfield, & Abidin, 2020). WhatsApp is an instant messaging application for smartphones. It allows users to exchange images, videos, and audio or written messages using their Internet connection (Waterloo et al., 2018).
Indigenous knowledge arises from social and physical interactions between people and their environment and is primarily an abstraction at a specific time and place (Enari & Viliamu Jameson, 2021). Furthermore, indigenous knowledge is preserved and refined over time by an indigenous community to preserve their unique identity (Awori, Vetere, & Smith, 2015). This knowledge constitutes the way of being, living and knowing of the community (Awori et al., 2015). To understand how Indigenous communities and online diaspora come together, it is necessary to understand what the term Indigenous means in the context of Pacific Islanders and how the label of Indigenous people affects ethnic minority Pacific Islanders who have migrated to countries like Australia. As people of the Pacific Islands, there is a strong connection to their ancestral homelands. Land is not just a commodity or resource for the people of the Pacific Islands, but the land, ocean and sky are essential to their existence, particularly their cultural identity (Papoutsaki & Strickland, 2008). An elder usually passes on knowledge of the Pacific Island people’s customs and lore. Distance from their homeland, however, has restricted the amount of traditional knowledge passed down among Pacific Islanders in the diaspora. Due to their transnational nature, the Pacific Island diasporic communities, like other diasporic communities, now rely heavily on the Internet-mediated social networking services and communication technologies such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram to maintain relationships and connections across distances and diverse subgroups (Marlowe et al., 2017). By gaining visibility and influence not only in its diasporic context of Pacific Islands, but in the wider networked community in which it operates, the diaspora opens up new and alternative avenues of expression and self-expression in online spaces such as social media (Keles, 2016).
Traditionally, community has been defined in terms of geographic proximity and cultural heritage (Srinivasan, 2006). This has now shifted to where online diaspora of Pacific Islander communities can be imagined or influenced through the digital networks that allow interaction across distances (Bergholz, 2018). Community is thus imagined, mediated through the imagery of the media landscape, ideologies of the ideo landscape, and ever-changing demographics of ethnicity and information (Bergholz, 2018). Social media offers multiple opportunities to communicate with expatriate friends and family members through messages, images, audio and video-based content that can be maintained in both synchronous and asynchronous contexts (Marlowe et al., 2017). In times of global cultural shifts, the online diaspora of Pacific Islanders is gaining momentum. With advances in connected technologies, the diaspora today maintains social and political relationships that are transnational, including communities in other host countries and at home. The ability to know in real time about the activities of the home country and at the same time have the ability to react to it in real time is a game changer for Pacific Islanders that are connected as an online diaspora through the affordances of online spaces such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram (Ashutosh, 2020). It is not only about diasporas looking back at their home countries, but also about institutions and politicians at home now realising that they have a global audience that has people from their diaspora abroad who are also influential (Awori et al., 2015). Furthermore, the convergence of the online Pacific Islander diaspora and the social media stream over the Internet allows their community to respond to events from their home country, to communicate, to share resources, and to mobilise while being assimilated into their host or settlement country. The networked nature of the social media stream or new media technologies allows for near instantaneous sharing, identity formation, communication, and publication without being bound by the realities of physical distance. For many individuals and groups, social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube have become crucial tools of connection and belonging (Marlowe et al., 2017). These technologies are especially useful for migrating populations, such as Pacific Island diasporic communities, whose lives are typically marked by multiscalar interactions and attachments that span numerous forms of identification. While many indigenous peoples of Pacific Island diaspora strive to preserve the traditional values and indigenous practices that contribute significantly to their identity, there are a variety of other realities that demonstrate shifts in cultural identity.
In order to obtain social acceptance in the Australian social framework, Pacific Islanders in Australia had to absorb colloquial slangs, slurs, idioms, and jargon from Australia and local neighbourhoods (Enari & Viliamu Jameson, 2021). While assimilation has the ability to obliterate or transcend newly arrived Pacific Islanders’ customs and cultural practises, it is a necessary aspect of integrating into Western culture. As Pacific Islanders acclimatise to Western norms, both consciously and unconsciously, it becomes habitual and natural. On top of their entrenched cultural identities, these routes give an extra layer of identification. The diasporas of online spaces made possible by Internet-mediated social networking services, enable the communication of culture and cultural survival of Pacific Island communities who have migrated to their host or settlement country (Titifanue et al., 2018). The ease of Pacific Islanders in transition and assimilation into Australian culture has been identified as a negative impact of the weakening of cultural identity, with many diaspora Pacific Islanders attempting to re-engage with their cultural identity through digital social media platforms which play a significant role in connecting Pacific Island diaspora in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and North America (Papoutsaki & Strickland, 2008). All Pacific Island cultures and traditions are very similar, and they feel a deep affinity with their traditional land. The Pacific Islands’ cultures and customs are all quite similar, and they are all emotionally tied and connected to their ancestral homeland. People in the Pacific Islands frequently go through a process of identifying their village or district, followed by where their family resides, and finally providing specific references to their origins (Enari & Viliamu Jameson, 2021). Diasporas in online spaces enable for Pacific Islanders to harness social media platforms as a means to reassert their cultural identity by reconnecting, enhancing and reviving awareness of their cultural traditions and identity with other networked individuals (Papoutsaki & Strickland, 2008). Moreover, by innovatively using social media to articulate their cultural traditions and identity, but also to stay informed on issues pertaining to events such as climate change occurring within their homeland.
Pacific Islanders living in Australia have used their diasporic position to act in solidarity with their families on the islands who are suffering the negative effects of the climate crisis. While not on the front lines of the climate crisis, Pacific Island communities have been at the forefront of climate action in Australia through the engagement of social media platforms (Enari & Viliamu Jameson, 2021). The advent of social media has given Pacific Island diasporic communities opportunities to nurture and rekindle family bonds that were previously unprecedented and effectively maintain connections within the diaspora (Howard, 2011). Conceptually, the diaspora of Pacific Island communities is at the level of online representation, unfragmented by physical distance and separation, undivided and unconstrained in the presence of networked individuals in virtual space (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). The empowerment of Internet-mediated technological affordances such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter create a unity of imaginary or influenced Pacific Island communities. This is critical to the continued empowerment of the use of social media platforms as a means of reaffirming their cultural identities through interconnected online diaspora of Pacific Island communities to strengthen and revitalise awareness of their cultural traditions and identity while assimilating into western culture (Bergholz, 2018). The concept of diasporic consciousness highlights the dual reality of the collective memory of geographically dispersed Pacific Island peoples who have migrated from their homelands but seek to share, learn, and preserve their cultural identities and traditions while settling in their new host or settlement country (Keles, 2016). By fostering hope and sustaining a community across time and space, diasporic awareness can serve as a sociological connector that allows diasporic networks to become a resource and source of social capital. In this process, diasporas become relevant to recreate new ethnic spaces in settlement countries and at the same time reconnect with their homeland through Internet-mediated social networking services.
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I really enjoyed your paper Mua – well done. I’m interested as to whether you think the concept of the ‘third place’ (Oldenberg), applies to your discussion of the way Pacific Islander’s have used social media. Particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, do you think this platforms allowed dispersed communities a place to ‘be together’?
Hi Kathryn,
Thank you for taking the time to read my paper and reply. I believe that Oldenberg’s concept of the third place actually applies to the way Pacific Islanders have used social media in the context of COVID-19 to encourage socialisation that is more universally accessible to dispersed diasporic communities in the Pacific Islands, and to maintain relationships and connections across distances. In addition to providing a virtual third place through internet-mediated social networking sites for spontaneous, real-time interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has allowed the freedom for Pacific Island diasporic communities to engage through anonymity, creating a less inhibited and more important, spirited and lively conversations that might otherwise be limited in physical settings.
Hi Kathryn – thank you for taking the time to read my paper and reply. I believe that Oldenberg’s concept of third place actually applies to the way Pacific Islanders have used social media in the context of COVID-19 to encourage socialisation that is more universally accessible to dispersed diasporic communities in the Pacific Islands, and to maintain relationships and connections across distances. In addition to providing a virtual third place through Internet-mediated social networking sites for spontaneous, real-time interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also allowed the freedom for Pacific Island diasporic communities to be in a shared space together where they could engage through anonymity, creating a less inhibited and more important, spirited and lively conversations over common interests or experiences that might otherwise be limited in physical settings.
Hi Muaimalae
This is a great paper. Maintaining social bonds across geographic distances is one of the best features of social media. Growing up in an immigrant family, I had no idea who my grandparents, uncles, aunts or cousins were, as there was only the phone and letters to use to stay in touch. Now, people can communicate any time, across any distance, even send videos and pictures! It’s amazing how much has changed within just a few decades.
You made an interesting point about the passing on and preservation of knowledge within indigenous groups, which is something I hadn’t considered before. Of course, with people relocating from their homeland for whatever reason, the passing on of cultural information could potentially be at risk. During your research, did you find any specific communities online among Pacific Islander groups with this particular aim in mind?
Hi Diana,
Thank you and thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my paper! I absolutely agree with maintaining social connections across geographic distances facilitated by the use of various social networking services that are constantly evolving and advancing through Internet mediated technological affordances.
The passing on and preservation of knowledge within Indigenous groups is a common practice that is still continued today by mainland Pacific Island groups in their settled lands. There are several websites specific to the various Pacific Island groups with information on history, culture, language and news boards. However, the popularity of these websites has waned over the years due to the advent of social media. During my research, I found that the most widely used interactive social networking service was Facebook, with Facebook group sites such as ‘Rotumans on Facebook‘, ‘Lest We forget our Fa’a-Samoa‘, ‘<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/649164775227037"Cook Islands Our Paradise‘, currently being used to reinvigorate the culture and identity of these particular Pacific Island groups, but also to realign their identities to deal with the challenges that pose a threat to the survival of these Indigenous ethnic minorities of the South Pacific Islands. Given the technological capabilities of the social networking services available today, would you consider using a social media platform like Facebook to reconnect with similar online diasporic communities that align with your immigrant upbringing?
Hello Mua,
Your paper was so refreshing, reflective, and informative. It had a sense of nostalgia to its core and highlighted the cultural standings and community formations of Pacific Islanders, who migrated to other countries for settlement. This paper seeks valuable reflection on the lives of a community settled and formed in a foreign land, that can only connect to its homeland via social media, in today’s times. For instance, on similar grounds, I can relate to the massive amount of North Indians from the Punjab region settling in Canada, to the extent that Canada is known as a mini Punjab in unofficial conversations.
Your paper opens up a lot of discussions and ideas… I enjoyed reading it and would love to hear your thoughts on what you think when a massive chunk of a community of people settle in another nation and recreate an environment of their homeland in the foreign land, how different is this from the discussion you had in your paper?
Hi Riya, in response to your question I personally think that it is great when community of people recreate an environment of their homeland in other nations. Although some may argue that it does not allow them to properly assimilate/settle into a new environment – I think quite the opposite. I think that it actually helps people settle into an environment better, and makes it more comfortable for them to do so.
I’d love to hear what you think about my paper, the link is: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/csm/720/online-communities-how-social-media-helped-communities-during-coronavirus-lockdowns/#comment-1423
Thanks,
Ike
Hi Ikeo,
I too agree with your thought that it ‘helps people settle into an environment better, and makes it more comfortable for them to do so.’ 100%!
Thanks,
Riya
Hi Riya,
Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to read my paper!
It is very interesting that you mention the North Indians from the Punjab region who settled in Canada. In general, I think it is natural for migrants around the world to be drawn to a place of settlement where there is a familiar sense of belonging and togetherness with a community that reminds them of their homeland. This isn’t much different from the discussion in my paper, where as a diasporic community we seek to form relationships with other people who share a common interest, background, or genuine relationship – be it within physical or virtual spaces. In recreating an environment of their homeland, large communities such as your example of the North Indians from the Punjab region invoke a strong desire to preserve the traditional values and indigenous practices that are essential to their identity, family and cultural ties, lest they are wiped out by assimilation into their new country of settlement.
Do you think there are advantages or disadvantages of diaspora communities recreating the environment of their homeland in their settled country?
Hi Mua,
I think as an Indian who was living in Western Australia for quite some time and met many Indian families, celebrated Indian festivals and most importantly had conversations in our home language, it is a relief to have diasporic communities recreating an environment of the homeland in a foreign land.
Thanks,
Riya
Hey Mua, I couldn’t find you in the discord group, pls leave your thoughts on my paper. Here’s the link https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/ioa/557/analyzing-the-creative-use-of-social-media-and-influencer-culture-by-fashion-brands-such-as-green-fashion-brands-in-building-and-promoting-themselves-and-investigating-the-challeng/
Thanks 😊
Hi Mua, I enjoyed reading your paper and thought you made some very good points. Particularly around the enabling of social media to engage in the politics of places in “real time”, despite physically being far away and use their influence overseas to effect positive change for the diaspora community.
Hi Mua,
I really enjoyed reading your paper; I found it so informative and interesting as it is a topic I have never really looked into, and so I loved learning.
As an immigrant myself I resonated with your statement that, “The advent of social media has given Pacific Island diasporic communities opportunities to nurture and rekindle family bonds that were previously unprecedented and effectively maintain connections within the diaspora “. I think most immigrants will agree that this is one of the best aspects of social media. For me personally, I mainly use social media to connect with family, for instance since migrating I have only see my grandmother for a maximum of 6 times (weeks or months at a time) in the past 15 years, however I have been able to nurture a relationship with her and other family members via weekly phone calls.
I also agree that social media helps to bring dispersed communities together – which is also such a great benefit!
I’d love to hear what you think about my paper, the link is: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/csm/720/online-communities-how-social-media-helped-communities-during-coronavirus-lockdowns/#comment-1423
Hi Ike,
Thank you for taking the time to read my paper and love that you use social media to stay connected with family and also continue to build and nurture that relationship with your grandmother through the affordances of social networking services despite the physical distance between you! Imagine if such Internet-mediated technologies still did not exist!? I find video calling platforms are a great benefit to be able to reduce the distance between myself and family or friends who are geographically distanced from me!
I loved reading your paper and have commented.