Mediated Recognition: The Role of Facebook in Identity and Social Formations of Filipino Transnationals in Indian Cities

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-27-2016

Abstract

Examining emergent appropriations of new media technologies and platforms provides an opportunity to rethink their roles in identity and social formations. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation with Filipino transnationals in Indian cities, I look at the role of social networking site Facebook in their everyday life. Ethnographic data reveal that their practices of sharing achievements and affirming connections on Facebook relate to their need for recognition that is defined by their particular context of migration. The term “mediated recognition” is proposed to account for the ways new and traditional media facilitate recognition by providing a platform for self-presentation and affirmation from social networks. Mediated recognition also highlights how media provide symbolic resources that are harnessed by Filipino transnationals in constituting their identities and social relations. The article demonstrates how mediated recognition can be a framework to analyze a key moment in the process of identity and social formations.

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