Identity and Social World of Transnational Immigrants:From the Perspective of Media Generation
In the era of deep mediatization,the daily lives of transnational immigrants are intricately connected to media,intertwining their social worlds with various forms of communication.This study compares Robert E.Park's immigration research with a one-year participatory observation and in-depth interviews of Chinese Canadian immigrants to explore the identity characteristics of contemporary transnational immigrants.It describes the social worlds and identities generated by media and examines the relationship between identity and media.The research finds that,unlike the Americanization of immigrants in Park's newspaper era,integration or assimilation is no longer an inevitable choice for immigrants.The dis-embedding and borderless nature of media and its infrastructure reshape the social worlds of immigrants.Their perceptions of the surrounding world,both global and local,virtual and real,become increasingly blurred.Place is no longer the sole or clear support for identity;instead,media creates identities and senses of belonging that are independent of physical location.In this context,media generates new identities for transnational immigrants,which are often mixed,misplaced,fragmented,and nondirectional.The delocalization and boundarylessness of media infrastructure weaken the unique sense of wandering traditionally associated with transnational immigrants.This infrastructure maintains their intricate connections with their homeland,preserving their spiritual identity and sense of belonging.
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