Mediated recognition: The role of Facebook in identity and social formations of Filipino transnationals in Indian cities

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.

Mobility, Connectivity and Non-Resident Citizenship: Migrant Social Media Campaigns in the Irish Marriage Equality Referendum

“…For example, even as they contest state invocations of mobility and connectivity, campaign practices of mobility and connectivity are shaped by the governmental meanings attributed to mobility and connectivity by the Irish national order of things (Dzenovska, 2013: 205), and by the contemporary economisation of discourses, practices and values of democracy (Brown, 2015). While our synchronous multi-media 'communication environment' (Lorenzana, 2016(Lorenzana, : 2190 holds much potential for homeland-migrant relations and the assertion of migrant rights, we also need to attend to how such an environment can normalise the movements and connectivities of some to produce a hierarchal order of national citizenship and to how the data profiles and network links produced can be harvested for unanticipated ends.…”

“…Meanwhile the proliferation of social networking sites is transforming political participation by creating a synchronous multi-media 'communication environment' (Lorenzana, 2016(Lorenzana, : 2190. Through these sites migrants relate 'socially and emotionally to both their home and destination countries', but also 'assert themselves and their rights' (Lim et al, 2016(Lim et al, : 2147(Lim et al, , 2150.…”

Mobile Sexuality: Presentations of Young Filipinos in Dating Apps

“…The researcher noted that though young Punjabis engage in online dating, their decisive factor in settling down is still security and stability offered by their migrant communities. Jozon Lorenzana (2016) explored the concept of mediated recognition in the case of Filipino transnationals in Indian cities. The study confirmed the influence of social media, particularly Facebook, in transnationals' self-esteem and sense of identity.…”

Altogether now? Symbolic recognition, musical media events and the forging of civic bonds among minority youth in Norway

“…Existing contributions that deal explicitly with recognition in relation to the media have either been concerned with how recognition is offered by media texts (see Faimau, 2013), how it is afforded by social media (Lorenzana, 2016), or they have made theoretical claims about recognition (see Maia, 2001). Cottle (2007), focusing on news media texts and journalistic practices, makes a strong theoretical case for the importance of what he terms ‘mediatized recognition’.…”