Digital (Mis)-Representations: Understanding Ethno-Cultural Minority Identity Formation Online

Kyriaki Topidi, Jody Metcalfe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The digital sphere provides a space for minorities to empower themselves, while also exposing them to discrimination and online harm. The effects of online harm on minority groups can cause additional traumatic experiences, which affect their experience of the digital realm and how they construct their identity(ies) online. This paper explores cultural minority identity formation online in two ways. The first, unpacking the impact of platform governance failures to protect minorities from online harm through an analysis of platforms’ Terms of Service and content moderation practices. And second, through the theoretical frameworks of Intersectional Digital Third Spaces of Belonging, that frame how minority groups have responded to the challenges of the digital realm to form their own strategies of resistance and protection. Ultimately this paper provides insight into how platforms fail to protect minorities from online harm, leading to minorities finding alternative strategies to protect themselves online while creating new and challenging old formulations of their identity(ies) in the digital world.
Original languageEnglish
Article number45
JournalDigital Society
Volume3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Sept 2024
Externally publishedYes

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