Syrian Refugee Youth Use Social Media: Building Transcultural Spaces and Connections for Resettlement in Ottawa, Canada

In this paper, we examine the role of social media in facilitating and building transcultural communication and connections for forced migrants in today's contexts of resettlement. For refugees, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and mobile technologies can help with relocation, provide the means to stay connected to family and friends, and learn about the new cultural environment. Our focus is on recently resettled Syrian refugee youth in Ottawa, who arrived in Canada as part of a federal government resettlement initiative in 2015-2016. Based on the findings of a qualitative study comprised of focus groups with Syrian refugee youth, both female and male between the ages of 16-25, we investigate the everyday use of social media in the process of resettlement and integration. Using thematic analysis, we draw on the concept of transculturality to discuss the role of social media as a space for transcultural coming-together that can assist in becoming familiarized with a new culture and society. We suggest that social media serve as a 'contact zone' that enables cultural sharing and learning, a mechanism for cultural and linguistic 'translation', and a 'borderlands' that may help bridge cultural differences and build connections while also negotiating a sense of belonging. Through a critical engagement with these findings we ponder the significance of social media for enabling refugee agency and as a transcultural 'virtual' space that enhances refugees' resettlement and integration.