Digital Belonging and Future Imaginaries: Heritage Exploration in Asian Diasporic Youths’ Use of Social Media

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 7:45am
  In Poster Session: Digital Belonging and Literacy

Abstract

In the digital age, immigrant youth are increasingly engaging with social media content. This study draws on the narratives of four Asian college students(two Asian American and two transnational Asian) to explore their engagement with social media in relation to their heritage. We examine how Asian diasporic youths’ engagement with heritage-related content on social media informs their decisions to invest in or withdraw from their heritage languages. We argue that social media constitutes a critical space for negotiating dual identities and sustaining heritage connections. However, while social media enables engagement with heritage culture, whether such engagement translates into heritage language maintenance or learning ultimately depends on multiple factors.

Authors

• Zixin Chen, University of Washington

• Anqi Zu, University of Washington