Social media has become integrated into our everyday lives as a site for friendships, entertainment, business, politics, and activism. Today, at least one in three people globally is on a social media platform. This has practical implications for migrants and refugees, offering empowering opportunities for representation but also surveillance concerns.

In addition, this shift has consequences on how the public’s understanding of migrants and refugees is formed, with social media platforms now shaping discourses and narratives around migration. As the majority of the British public do not have direct contact with migrants and refugees, the media can play a significant role in shaping our ideas of migrants and refugees. Through the curation of posts on social media, migrants and refugees are framed in particular ways. Hence, the difference between a refugee being depicted as a political actor versus a humanitarian subject depends on compositional and narrative choices. Read More…