E-sian: youth negotiating Asian in racialized online groups on Facebook.
Date
2011-08-30
Authors
Nguyen, Vi T. N.
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Abstract
This study is a qualitative, blended methods, online ethnography that seeks to explore how youth (re)negotiate what it means to be Asian through their participation in online, user-created, racialized groups within the popular social network site Facebook. What are the relationships and social processes between their online and offline interactions that contribute to the construction of a singular or multiple Asian identities? Through face-to-face and online interviews with youth participants in Vancouver, three broad themes emerged around: 1) the negotiation of Asian as a process of negotiating authenticity, 2) the use of humour and jokes as a means of resistance and reproduction of Asian stereotypes and 3) how the performance of one or multiple Asian identities are dependent on dramaturgical concepts of audience and stage. The data from this study highlight the complexity of racialized youth’s identity negotiations in an increasingly growing online world and the relevance and need for further research in this specific niche area.
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Keywords
youth, identity, ethnic studies, internet studies, qualitative studies