Diaspora 2.0: building identity with a selfie

Abstract

This PhD proposal contains a literature review and methodology for a future research about the digital identity of the Senegalese and Gambian diaspora communities that currently live in Catalonia. I propose a virtual ethnographic approach for studying the Selfies (self-generated photographs) which are uploaded on Facebook and Instagram by particular individuals from the Senegalese and Gambian diasporic communities. The objective of the research is to study how the new Selfie phenomenon allows the Senegalese and Gambian diasporic communities in Catalonia to perform their identity and cultural behaviours through the new social media. The methodology is composed of a detailed Selfie and social media text analysis as well as a participant observation approach and virtual interviews. The expected outcomes are to understand how the social media allows for the creation of an imagined community in a globalized and interconnected context and to comprehend how the Selfie permits the self-representation of the diasporic communities.