Work

Urban & Online: Social Media Use among Adolescents and Sense of Belonging to a Super-Diverse City

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: In a world of continuous migration, super-diverse cities consist of a multitude of migrants and non-migrants from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Yet one characteristic they all have in common is the place where they currently live. In addition, both groups are active users of social media, especially the young. Social media provide platforms to construct and negotiate one’s identity—particularly the identity related to where one lives: urban identity. This article presents the results of a survey study (N = 324) investigating the relationships between social media engagement and identity construction among migrant and non-migrant adolescents in the super-diverse city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was found that urban identity was significantly higher for migrants than non-migrants. Certain aspects of social media engagement predicted urban identity in combination with social identity. Finally, social media engagement was found to be positively related to group self-esteem.

Source: Media and Communication

DOI: 10.17645/mac.v7i2.1879

Authors: Anne K. Van Eldik, Julia Kneer, Jeroen Jansz

Institution: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Language: English

Topic: Urban and sociocultural dynamics

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,132