Bridging the Digital Divide: Data Access and Integration of Venezuelan Migrants

• In Event: The Perils and Promise of Social Media Discourse and Information

Abstract

More than 6 million Venezuelans fled the country as refugees and migrants, in what constitutes one of the largest external displacement crises in recent history (2022, UNHCR). Nearly two million of Venezuelans fled to Colombia (USAID 2021), where they continue to face various legal, economic, and social barriers. Internet access barriers may reduce not only the amount of information that migrants can obtain about economic and assistance opportunities, which are available online, but also their ability to expand or sustain their social ties, or verify truthfulness of the information received through social media. In this project, we study how internet access barriers affect integration and migrant wellbeing in contexts of limited state capacity and economic constraints. In particular, we assess the effects of enhanced data access (by providing mobile data credit) on migrants’ knowledge and interest in existing government assistance programs, the expansion and maintenance of their social networks, and their levels of psychological well-being. We further evaluate whether complementing this enhanced data provision with access to WhatsApp groups which facilitate an exchange of accurate information (in collaboration with the National Planning Department of the Government of Colombia) leads to better socio-economic outcomes for the forcibly displaced and migrant community.

Authors

• Nejla Asimovic, Georgetown University

• Mateo Vasquez Cortes, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico

• Kevin Munger, Pennsylvania State University