Introduction: Marginality and Social Media

Abstract

This special issue brings together 13 manuscripts and two practitioner responses that speak to the intersection of marginality and social media in a variety of contexts. Readers of Social Media + Society certainly know what social media are, but marginality may be more elusive. We introduce this special issue by noting the historical moment for studying marginality, providing a working definition of that concept, and highlighting how this special issue sustains and extends that conversation within the context of social media.

Double lockdown: The effects of digital exclusion on undocumented immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Previous studies have noted that digital inclusion introduces "dialectical dynamics of opportunity and vulnerability" (Gillespie et al, 2018: 1), and that these interplay with marginalization (Pearce, Gonzales, & Welles, 2020). Our findings align with this but also highlight that these dynamics can strongly differ even within individual marginalized groups -in our study, immigrants leveraged technology to address their vulnerabilities while others saw their vulnerabilities emphasized by technology.…”

“…Previous studies have noted that digital inclusion introduces “dialectical dynamics of opportunity and vulnerability” (Gillespie et al, 2018: 1), and that these interplay with marginalization (Pearce et al, 2020). Our findings align with this but also highlight that these dynamics can strongly differ even within individual marginalized groups.…”

“…Digital technologies have been framed as a means for marginalized groups to establish new social connections and gain access to new resources, such as information and services (Gonzales, 2017; Mesch, 2012). However, marginalized communities often have unique needs and vulnerabilities and so must become “navigators of the interstitial space between risk and opportunity” (Pearce et al, 2020: 1). Likewise, recent studies have found that social media can both attenuate and exacerbate dimensions of marginality—such as increasing both information access and isolation among people with disabilities (Trevisan, 2020) or increasing both opportunities for social connection and risks of identification among LGBTQ+ individuals (Birnholtz et al, 2020).…”

Digital Change and Marginalized Communities: Changing Attitudes Towards Digital Media in the Margins

“…What are the conclusions that can be drawn from the exemplary interviews presented here? Digital communication is also experienced ambivalently in other marginalized groups [28] [29]. Attacks, insults, and overreactions to marginalized people and people with a different way of life, opinion, or group affiliation are widely represented.…”

BETWEEN INCLUSION & EXCLUSION: THE DIGITAL LIVES OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES

“…Recent studies in communication suggest that digital technologies can both attenuate and exacerbate dimensions of marginality (Pearce et al, 2020). For undocumented immigrants, this can lead to both positive and negative outcomes of digital inclusion (Bastick and Mallet, 2021).…”