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This chapter looks at the hidden variables in the new narrative of connection among African migrants. It discusses the microscopic details of the mediation of absence and how social media platforms, such as Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube, are leveraged to form meaning in their liminal spaces. The chapter dwells on ignored, but evolving compartments, including the emotional significance of connection, the psychological stability it offers, in addition to the economic, cultural and political relevancies therefrom, beyond the known, popular fact of being an alternative space of belonging, the creation of individual and collective identity, the management and mitigation of longing, nostalgia and reminiscing, in addition to providing insights into the changing behavioural and attitudinal dispositions of the migrants in sidestepping the physical world of authorities or sovereignties (van Reisen et al., 2019) through the social media spaces. The chapter relies on interviews, observational studies, and, in particular, snippets of evidence gathered from viewing the social media accounts of the migrants.

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From Silence to Signal: African Migrants, Social Media, and the Disruption of Dominant Narratives

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Abiodun Adeniyi

摘要

This chapter looks at the hidden variables in the new narrative of connection among African migrants. It discusses the microscopic details of the mediation of absence and how social media platforms, such as Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube, are leveraged to form meaning in their liminal spaces. The chapter dwells on ignored, but evolving compartments, including the emotional significance of connection, the psychological stability it offers, in addition to the economic, cultural and political relevancies therefrom, beyond the known, popular fact of being an alternative space of belonging, the creation of individual and collective identity, the management and mitigation of longing, nostalgia and reminiscing, in addition to providing insights into the changing behavioural and attitudinal dispositions of the migrants in sidestepping the physical world of authorities or sovereignties (van Reisen et al., 2019) through the social media spaces. The chapter relies on interviews, observational studies, and, in particular, snippets of evidence gathered from viewing the social media accounts of the migrants.