CONSTRUCTING IDENTITY AND COMMUNALITY ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM: An Exploration of #Igbotwitter Tweets

doi:10.36782/jcs.v11i2.2120

CONSTRUCTING IDENTITY AND COMMUNALITY ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM: An Exploration of #Igbotwitter Tweets

Silas Udenze

Abstract

Social media have a burgeoning on our lives as they have become avenues for the exhibition of life experiences, and they also a variety of dimensions regarding our position in the online and offline social life. These factors make individuals play certain characters in the social arena. Expanding on Vogel et al.'s (2014) idea of "fulfilling belongingness", this paper explores to what extent Igbos in diaspora use the Twitter hashtag to construct the Igbo identity and how the Twitter hashtag #Igbotwitter reflects a complex transnational dialogue about Igbo identity markers in a globalized media landscape. Adopting an interpretive thematic analysis and Dowdall and Golden's (1989) method for image analysis, the study analyzed 47 #Igbotwitter tweets shared by diaspora Nigerians. The analysis revealed some overarching themes like "The Igbos as Business-Minded People", "Cultural/Traditional Enthusiast", among others. This study draws attention to how social media provide users with a unique space to address cultural and socio-economic discourse, reconstruct identities, and refute cultural misconceptions on a transnational level. It further highlights how the users attempt to preserve and protect the Nigerian Igbo identity and also fulfil a sense of belongingness in the current networked media environment. This study contributes to the literature on identity construction on digital platforms, and by implication points to the intentional and positive use of social media to promote culture on a global scale.

To cite this article (7^th APA style):

Udenze, S. (2022). Constructing identity and communality on a social media platform: an exploration of #igbotwitter tweets. Journal Communication Spectrum: Capturing New Perspectives in Communication 12(1), 11-28. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36782/jcs.v11i2.2120

Keywords

Identity; Nigeria; Igbo; Twitter; hashtag; nationality

References

Afigbo, A. (1981). Ropes of sand. Nsukka: University of Nigeria Press.

Agozino, B. & Anyanike, I., (2007). Imu ahia: Traditional Igbo business school and global commerce culture. Dialectical Anthropology, 31(1-3): 233-252.

Aligwekwe, P. E. (1991). The continuity of African traditional values in the African society: The Igbo of Nigeria. Enugu: Snaap.

Androutsopoulos, J. & Georgakopoulou, A. (eds.) (2003). Discourse constructions of Youth Identities. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Arens, W. F., Weigold, M. F., & Arens, C. (2008). Contemporary advertising. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Attride-Stirling, J. (2001). Thematic networks: An analytic tool for qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 1 (3), 385–405.

Bainum, B. (2010). Virtual ethnicity. Retrieved from: http://learn.bowdoin.edu/courses/sociology-022-fall-2010-bbainum/2010/11/virtual-ethnicity/

Benwell, B. & Stokoe, E. (eds.) (2006). Discourse and identity. Edinburgh: EUP.

Berns, U. (2013). The living handbook of narratology. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press.

Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. New York, NY: Routledge.

Billig, M. (1995). Banal nationalism. London, UK: SAGE Publications.

boyd, D. M. (2008). Why youth (heart) social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham (ed.). MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning-youth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume. MIT Press: Cambridge, 119-142.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper et al. (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology: Vol. 2. Research designs (pp. 57–71). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Bruns, A., &, Stefan, S. (2013). Towards more systematic twitter analysis: Metrics for tweeting activities. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 16(2), 91-108.

Calhoun, C. (2004). Information technology and the international public sphere. In: D. Schuler & P. Day, Shaping the network society: The new role of civil society in cyberspace. Cambridge, MIT Press.

Carey, J. W. (1989). Communication as culture: Essays on media and society. New York, NY: Routledge.

Castells, M. (1997). The power of identity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Castells, M. (2001). The Internet Galaxy. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Chamourian, E. (2017). Identity performance and self-presentation through dating app profiles: How individuals curate profiles and participate on Bumble. Retrieved from: https://search.proquest.com/openview/a50045f5889138d0facefc0d61e87e22/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y

Chang, H. (2010). A new perspective on Twitter hashtag use: Diffusion of innovation theory. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 47(1) 1-4.

Chatora, A. T. (2010). Social relationships and identity online and offline: A study of the interplay between offline social relationships and Facebook usage by Rhodes university students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies of Rhodes University.

Dahlberg, L. (2007). The internet, deliberative democracy, and power: Radicalizing the public sphere.

Davis, Katie. (2012). Tensions of identity in a networked era: Young people's perspectives on the risks and rewards of online self-‐expression. New Media and Society 14(4), 643-‐51. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, 3(1), pp. 47–64.

de Fina A., Schiffrin, D. & Bamberg, M. (eds.) (2006). Discourse and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Deutsch, K. W. (1953). Nationalism and social communication: An inquiry into the foundations of nationality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Diamond, L. (20IO). Twitter wonder tactics. United States: Lou Diamond

Dibbell, J. (1993, December 23). A rape in cyberspace: How an evil clown, a Haitian trickster spirit, two wizards, and a cast of dozens turned a database into a society. The Village Voice. Retrieved from http://www.villagevoice.com/news/a-rape-in-cyberspace-6401665.

Dolon, R. & Todoli, J. (eds.) (2008). Analyzing identities in discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Dowdall, G. W., & Golden, J. (1989). Photographs as data: An analysis of images from a mental hospital. Qualitative Sociology, 12(2), 183–213.

Du Bois, I. & Baumgarten, N. (eds.) (2013). Multilingual identities: New global perspectives. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Garzone, G. & Archibald, J. (eds.) (2010). Discourse, identities and roles in specialized communication. Berlin: Peter Lang. DOI: 10.3726 / 978-3-0351-0122-5.

Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. New York: Basic Books.

Gergen, K. J. (1991). The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life. Basic Books.

Ginger, J. (2008). The Facebook project: Performance and construction of digital identity. The Facebook project. Masters Thesis Submitted to Department of Sociology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. http://www.thefacebookproject.com

Golbelk, J., Roble, C., Edmondson, M., & Turner, K. (2011). Predicting personality from Twitter. International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk, and Trust, and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing. Retrieved from: https://www.demenzemedicinagenerale.net/pdf/2011%20-%20Predicting%20Personality%20from%20Twitter.pdf.

Goswami, S. (2010). Indian diaspora’s use of social networking sites for identity construction and community building: The case of Indians in London (IIL) community on Orkut. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/807246/ INDIAN_DIASPORAS_USE_OF_SOCIAL_NETWORKING_SITES.

Grossberg, L. (1996). Identity and cultural studies: Is that all there is? In S. Hall & P. Du Gay (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity (p. 87–107). Sage Publications, Inc.

Gündüz, U. (2017). The effect of social media on identity construction. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(5), 85- 92. Retrieved from https://www.richtmann.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/10062

Hall, S. (1990). Cultural identity and diaspora’. In: N. Mirzoeff (Ed), Diaspora and visual culture: Representing Africans and Jews, London, Routledge.

Hall, S. (1992). The question of cultural identity. In: S. Hall, D. Held, & T. McGrew (Eds.), Modernity and its futures. Cambridge, Polity Press.

Hall, S. (1996). Who needs identity? In: S. Hall & P. du Gay (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity, London, Sage.

Hall, S., Held, D., & McGrew, T. (1992). Modernity and its futures:

Understanding modern societies. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Heivadi, T., & Khajeheian, D. (2013). Construction of social identity in social media: An investigation of Iranian users’ appearance in Facebook. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 4(12): 547-555.

Hogg, M. A., & Williams, K. D. (2000). From I to we: Social identity and the collective self. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 4(1), 81–97.

Hongladarom, S. (2011). Personal identity and the self in the online and offline world. Minds & Machines, 21, 533–548. DOI: 10.1007/s11023-011-9255-x

Ibrahim, N.F., & Durugbo, C. (2017). Historical hashtags: An investigation of the ‘#CometLanding’ tweets. Proceedings of the 2017 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM), (pp. 559-568) Bristol, United Kingdom.

Igbo, B.C. (2006). Understanding entrepreneurs business. Journal of Research in National Development, 8(2), 84-95.

Iqbal, A. (2017). Use of social media to promote national culture worldwide. Retrieved from: https://elar.urfu.ru/bitstream/10995/55543/1/978-5-7996-2231-2_090.pdf

Isichei, E. (1976). A history of the Igbo people. London: Macmillan.

Islam, G. (2015). Social identity theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 741-763.

Iwara, I.O., Amaechi, K.E., & Netshandama, V. (2019). The Igba-boi apprenticeship approach: Arsenal behind growing success of Igbo entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Ubuntu: Journal of Conflict and Social Transformation (Special Issue) 227-250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31920/2050-4950/2019/sin1a13.

Jeewa Z, Wade JP (2015). Playing with identity: Fan role playing on Twitter. Alternation, 22(2), 216–240

Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable media: Creating value and meaning in a networked culture. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Junco, R., Heibergert, G., & Loken, E. (2011). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27,119-132.

Kanu, I. A. (2012). Towards an Igbo Christology. In E. Ezenweke and I. A. Kanu (Eds.). Issues in African traditional religion and philosophy (75-98). Jos: Fab Anieh.

Kanu, I.A., (2019). Igwebuikeconomics: The Igbo apprenticeship system for wealth creation. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities, 5(4), 56-70.

Kaplan, A.M. &Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53 (1)59-68.

Koç, M. (2006). Cultural identity crisis in the age of globalization and technology. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 5(1) Article 5.

Kraidy, M. (2005). Hybridity, or the cultural logic of globalization. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Kramer, N.C., & Winter, S. (2008). Impression management 2.0: The relationship of self-esteem, extraversion, self-efficacy, and self-presentation within social networking sites. Journal of Media Psychology, 20 (3), 106–116. DOI 10.1027/1864-1105.20.3.106.

Lady-Franca, O.C., (2016). Induction strategy of Igbo entrepreneurs and micro-business success: A study of household equipment line, main market Onitsha, Nigeria. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Economics and Business, 4(1): 43-65.

Maliga, S., (2013). Igbos dominate economically in Lagos because Yorubas are lazy. Retrieved from: https://elombah.com/igbos-how-sad-for-the-yoruba-nation/

Micalizzi, A. (2013). Cyber-self: In search of a lost identity? In A. Poletti, & J. Rak, Identity Technologies: Constructing the Self Online (pp. 217-228). Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.

Markham, A. N. (1998). Life online: Researching real experience in virtual space. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press.

Norris, P. (2003). Preaching to the converted? Pluralism, participation and party web-sites. Party Politics, 9(10): 21–45.

Oh, O., Manish A., & Raghav R. (2010) Information control and terrorism: Tracking the Mumbai terrorist attack through Twitter. Information Systems Frontiers 13 (1) 33-43.

Ohiagu, O. P. (2010). Influence of information & communication technologies on the Nigerian society and culture. In N. Ekeanyanwu and C. Okeke (Eds.), Indigenous societies and Cultural Globalization in the 21st century. Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co.

Onwuejeogwu, M. A. (1987). Evolutionary trends in the history of the development of the Igbo civilization in the culture theatre of Igbo land in Southern Nigeria. A paper Presented during the Ohiajioku Lecture, Owerri.

Onwuka, A. (2015). The Igbo and culture of Apprenticeship. Retrieved from: http://www.nairaland.com/2790354/igbo-culture-apprenticeship.

Page, R. (ed.) (2012a). Stories and social media: Identities and Interaction. New York: Routledge.

Papacharissi, Z. (2002). The virtual sphere: The Internet as a public sphere. New Media & Society, 4(1): 9–27.

Pavlenko, A. & Blackledge, A. (eds.) (2004). Negotiation of Identity in multilingual contexts. Cleveland: Multilingual Matters.

DOI: 10.21832 / 9781853596483

Pearson, E. (2010). Making a Good (Virtual) First Impression: The Use of Visuals in Online Impression Management and Creating Identity Performances. 328(December), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15479-9

Praptiningsih, W., & Kurnia, N. (2020). Hoax and the crisis of health communication-public sphere Journal Communication Spectrum: Capturing New Perspectives in Communication, 10(1), 1-9, DOI: 10.36782/jcs.v10i1.2002.

Ramelb, M. (2016). Twitter and identity: Living up to the social comparison. Advanced Writing: Pop Culture Intersections. Retrieved: http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/10

Schmalz, D., Colistra, C.M., & Evans, K.E. (2014). Social media sites as a means of coping with a threatened social identity. Leisure Sciences, 37(1), 20-38.

Smutradontri, P., & Gadavanij, S. (2020) Fandom and identity construction: an analysis of Thai fans’ engagement with Twitter. Humanities Social Sciences Communications, 7,177. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00653-1

Tajfel, H. (1978). The achievement of inter-group differentiation. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Differentiation between social groups (77–100). London: Academic Press.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Touchstone.

Udenze, S. & Ugoala, B. (2019). Building community and constructing identity on WhatsApp: A netnographic approach. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies.4, 49-69, DOI: 10.30547/worldofmedia.4.2019.3

Udenze, S., & Aduba, O.J. (2020). Online advertising in Nigeria: An examination of approaches in Facebook and Instagram. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, Department of Cultural Studies, Astrakhan State University, Russia, 2(2), 87-122. https://doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v2i2.62

Ukaegbu, C.C., (2003). Entrepreneurial succession and post-founder durability: A study of indigenous private manufacturing firms in Igbo States of Nigeria. Journal of Contemporary African Affairs, 21(1), 27–45.

Verschueren, P. (2006). From virtual to everyday life. In J. Servaes & N. Carpentier (Eds.), Towards a sustainable information society: Deconstructing WSIS (pp. 169–184). Bristol, UK: Intellect Books.

Vogel,E., Rose, J.P., Roberts, L., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3 (4): 206-222. DOI: 10.1037/ppm0000047

Volkmer, I. (2003). The global network society and the global public sphere. Development, 46(1): 9–16.

Will, E.R., & Fecteau, A. (2016). Humor and Identity on Twitter: #muslimcandyheartrejects as a Digital Space for Identity Construction. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 36 (1):1-14. DOI: 10.1080/13602004.2016.1153825

Yadlin-Segal, A. (2017). Constructing National Identity Online: The Case Study of #IranJeans on Twitter. International Journal of Communication, 11, 2760–2783.

Zhang, Leihan, Jichang Zhao, Ke Xu. (2016). Who creates trends in online social media: The crowd or opinion leaders? Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 21(1), 1-16.

Full Text: PDF EN