Connections That Matter: The Relative Importance of Ethnic-Cultural Origin, Age and Generation in Media Uses Among Diasporic Youth in Belgium

Abstract

Most research on diasporic media use in Flanders (Belgium) focuses on second-generation adolescents belonging to the two largest non-European groups of migrants, Moroccans and Turks. This leads to a limited knowledge of the broader diasporic population and makes it difficult to ascertain how media use is related to age and generation (both in terms of migration and in terms of digital media access), independent of belonging to a specific ethnic-cultural group. To explore these issues, 30 adolescents from 16 national backgrounds and their parents were interviewed. Despite their diverse cultural backgrounds, clear generational differences were found, the younger participants demonstrating shared media uses and preferences (e.g. focusing more on entertainment and less on the country of origin). Although ethnic roots are important, age and generation are primary factors for understanding media uses and preferences among diasporic audiences, which cautions against an exclusive focus on ethnic-cultural identity in research.

Keywords::

• diaspora
• second-generation
• adolescents
• TV viewing
• internet use
• age
• generation

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the students of the 2013 research seminar on media use and identity formation at the University of Antwerp for their help in the collection of data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. The countries represented are Algeria (1), Bolivia (1), Bosnia-Herzegovina (3), Congo (1), France (1), India (1), Kosovo (1), Morocco (7), Poland (4), Rumania (1), Spain (2), Turkey (3), United Kingdom (1), Ukraine (2) and Vietnam (1).

^2. These parents were not excluded from the sample, as they belong to the same age group and generation in media terms as the other parents. However, where their generation in terms of migration makes a difference they will be discussed separately.

^3. As mentioned before, these numbers do not imply claims about the broader population but specify the tendencies observed. Often, the numbers do not add up to 30 per age group, because participants did not always provide (unambiguous) information on each topic.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alexander Dhoest

Alexander Dhoest is associate professor in communication studies at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), specialising in popular culture, television studies and audience research. He is particularly interested in the connection between media uses and issues of national, ethnic-cultural and sexual identity among young people. He has published widely on these themes in edited volumes and international journal such as European Journal of Communication and European Journal of Cultural Studies. E-mail: [email protected]