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Front-page Picture: World Press Photo of the Year 2014. African migrants on the shore of Djibouti City at night raise their phones in an attempt to catch an inexpensive signal from neighboring Somalia—a tenuous link to relatives abroad. John Stanmeyer. February 26, 2013 . Retrieved on 25.05.2016 from: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2014/contemporary-issues/john-stanmeyer

Moving People – Moving Media?

The Role of Social Media for Refugees on their Journeys to Europe

Master Thesis

Annabella Stieren # 11081716

MA Erasmus Mundus Master of Journalism Media and Globalization Universiteit van Amsterdam

Graduate School of Communication

Supervisor: Dr. Sanne Kruikemeier 27.05.2016

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Abstract

For the first time in history, refugees can make use of new digital technologies in migration movements, accessing social networking platforms on smartphones. Conferring uses and gratification and migration networks theory to the context of forced migration, this paper sheds light on what role social media plays for refugees on their journey to Europe through thirteen in-depth semi-structured interviews with refugees from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and Sudan. The

qualitative data reveals four levels on which social media manifests its central role for refugees on the move. Firstly, it enables refugees to maintain strong ties with families and participation in the communities they left behind. Secondly, it allows for daily coordination and thirdly, enables information-seeking through unofficial channels and communication with ‘weak ties’. Fourthly, a new motive for social media use emerged, which is named ‘the increase of objective and objective safety’. This study concludes that social media moves from the periphery to the center of the refugees’ lives and thus seeks to open a dialogue for further theory building on the

intersection of media and forced migration.

Key words: Social media, migration networks, uses and gratification, grounded theory, refugees

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Moving People – Moving Media?

The Role of Social Media for Refugees on their Journeys to Europe

The emergence of new information and communication technologies have opened up discussions about their social consequences, especially in the context of globalization, migration and in times of major political turmoil (Gerbaudo, 2012). In particular, social media allows for simultaneous communication flows and user-generated content production. Evidence from numerous studies shows that social media has a particular relevance for people who are detached from their communities: It is an inexpensive tool to maintain contact with families, create new networks and even participate in the communities they left behind (Komito, 2011; Kissau, 2012; Madiaonou, & Miller, 2011).

Last years and especially in 2015 European countries have seen a major increase in the influx of refugees and migrants (Spindler, 2015). In December 2015 more than 910.000 refugees have arrived on European shores, most of them coming from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan (Spindler, 2015). Their journeys across a variety of foreign countries are often weeks to month long mostly involve the crossings of the Mediterranean Sea. Further brutality by smugglers and police are reported and can be considered overall physically and mentally exhausting (Luft, 2016).Having left their personal belongings, community, friends or even family behind often all that remains is their smartphone (Witty, 2015). A recent survey conducted in the Syrian Za’Atari refugee camp in Jordan, shows that 86% of young Syrians own a mobile handset and 50% use the internet at least once a day (Maitland, 2015).

Remarkably little is known about the role of social media plays on refugees’ journeys to Europe even though understanding networks, communication and information processes might

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enable the spread of important information at the right digital locations and prevent unnecessary suffering.

So far, the use and impact of social media has been widely explored in previous work (Stafford, Stafford, & Schkade, 2004; Hunt, Atkin & Krishnan, 2012; Papacharissi & Rubin, 2011), concededly not in the context of forced migration or crisis. Much attention has been given to social media use in social movements, especially during the so-called Arab Spring (e.g., Wolfsfeld, Segev & Schaefer, 2013; Eltantawy & Wiest, 2011; Khondker, 2011). Recently, literature has emerged on the consequences of social media for migration processes, however in-depth insights are largely missing. Most research focuses either on how social media facilitates migration (Dekker & Engbersen, 2014) or on how one-to-one communication through ICT’s changes the communication pattern with members of the communities of origin (Luster, Quin, Bates, Johnson & Rana, 2009). However, the use of social media offers other opportunities: Its interactive functions allow simultaneous communication between refugees, families,

organizations and informal networks. Additionally, its network structure opens new possibilities for information-seeking in unsafe situations. This explorative study extends further findings, asking: What role does social media play for refugees on their journeys to Europe?

This study addresses the question of the role of social media through thirteen in-depth semi-structured interviews with Syrian, Iraqi, Sudanese and Eritrean refugees who fled their countries to Europe within the last four years. “Grounded theory” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) helped to identify and investigate the underlying connecting motives of media and migration. While acknowledging some limitations, particularly stemming from the “digital divide”, the study finds shifts in the patterns of social media usage and the importance of its network during forced migration in connection to coordination, communication and information-seeking. Adding empirical value to existing theory on migration networks, the study also finds a possible

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extension for social media ‘Uses and Gratifications’ (U&G) theory (Katz, Blumer & Gurevitch, 1974),which is named the “increase of subjective safety”. Overall, it is argued that social media’s role moves from the periphery to the core of refugees’ lives during their dangerous journey. Reinforcing the importance of social media, this study generates an added value to social debates on technology and internet access as a human rights, especially in context to forced displacement.

Refugees, Social Media & Digital Migration Networks

Although the ‘refugee crisis’ has been the number one topic for European media in 2015 (Hermann, 2016), little attention has been given to correctly defining important terms such as “migrant” and “refugee” in said debate. While both words are often used interchangeably in public and media discourse, they imply very different legal protection processes (Edwards, 2015). Conceptual clarity is therefore necessary. The “UN Convention on the Status of

Refugees”from 1951, defines a refugee as a person “unable or unwilling to return [to the country of origin] due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on his or her race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group” (p.14). While, according to the UN: “Migrants choose to move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death, but mainly to improve their lives by finding work, or in some cases for education, family reunion, or other reasons” (Edwards, 2015, para. 3). The current situation with thousands of people arriving at the borders of Europe is more complex, since the above terms “are not binary concepts – they exist on a fluid spectrum” (Diedring & Dorber, 2015, para. 2). Acknowledging the complexity, this study carefully uses the terms according to the UN definition, while focusing on refugees, who were forced to leave their country and apply for asylum in another country.

Even though the study of refugees is a whole discipline in social science and law, communication Science traditionally only focused on the representation of refugees in the

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classical “Western media”, investigating stereotypes, language and analyzing news frames in television, print and radio coverage (see Wright, 2002; Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Loescher, Long, Sigona & Wright, 2014; Bradimore & Bauder, 2011; Buchanan, Grillo, Threadgold & Wengraf, 2003). Refugees’ media use (especially ICTs and new media use) has only marginally been investigated. Exceptions are an explorative monograph by Leung, Finney Lamb and Emrys (2009), exemplifying that ICTs and mobile phones can facilitate communication in situations of conflict and dislocation and are important to maintain ties with families. An additional study to include is De Leeuw and Rydin’s (2007) article on refugee children’s digital media creations that shows media making as a useful tool for expressing cultural identities.

Digital Migration Networks

Departing from the strict concept of refugees and looking at the categories of migration and media turns out to be more fruitful. Academic enquiry has traditionally examined

immigrant’s consumption of media, as well as the production of ethnic minority and diaspora media (Georgiou, 2006; King & Wood, 2001; Shumow, 2012). Recurring themes are that diaspora media provides alternative representation of migrant communities, plays a role in defining identities and builds the connection to an imagined transnational community (Fortunati, Pertierra & Vincent, 2012; Noronha, & Papoutsaki, 2014). A study by Evers and Goggin (2012) highlights the importance of mobile phones for African men who recently reached Australia: While being able to maintain links to their home and families, it also helps them to configure the new life, organize the flow of information and share emotional memories of trauma, forced migration and resettlement with other men of the same cultural or ethnic background in the diaspora communities.

Meanwhile, the definition of ‘the media’ itself has changed fundamentally within the past decade. Once people gain access to a computer or mobile phone, a variety of social network sites

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is available to them, which transforms their relation to the media: Empowering them to produce own relevant content. Miller And Madianou (2011) argue that even low income groups, the kind of people who migrate as workers, can become publishers and broadcasters, through blogs, Youtube or their communication on Facebook with their friends. Pedraza (2013) describes that modern communication in the 21st century has changed the “qualitative experience of

immigration” (p.46). The immediacy of the new communication tools, lets migrants participate “in the world they once left behind as if they were still there” (p.46). These arguments, however, might fail to explain the complexity of interconnections between migration and media in their social and cultural context. Research of Wilding (2006) suggests that ICTs have transformed transnational families and contributed to the perception of intimate connectedness but must be studied, sensitive to the socio-economic and cultural implications of the family life: ICT use varies along the availability and costs, country, gender, class and communication infrastructure.

Analyzing the intersection of traditional and online migrant networks, Dutch researchers Dekker and Engbersen (2014) highlight another interesting aspect in the context of ICT and social media use. Their argument is based on the assumption that in migrant networks, so-called ‘weak ties’ (e.g. friends of friends) are more valuable for gaining new information and resources, since they have different information than ‘strong ties’ who usually share the same core of resources and information (Granovetter, 1973). Through 90 in-depth interviews with migrants coming to the Netherlands, Dekker and Engbersen (2014) found that social media enabled the establishment of new contacts and the activation of weak ties before the journey to obtain information. These discrete, non-official channels thus facilitated migration. An important feature, since their illegal status forbids contact with official sources. Since existing literature mainly focuses on migrants, it will be interesting to see, if these findings can be identified in the context of forced migration and social media use.

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The Concept of Social Media Use

To answer this questions a conceptualization of ‘social media use’ is necessary. Social media has been defined as online services that allow users to create individual profiles, connect with other users and navigate through networks of contacts. Users can communicate with each other through a variety of tools within the same site, including chatting, calling, sending private messages, leaving public comments on users’ profiles, linking to outside content and sharing photos and videos (Gil de Zuniga, Jung & Valenzuala, 2012).

Uses & Gratifications

A theoretical field that is helpful in adding another dimension to the framework of social media use is the ‘Uses and Gratification’ (U&G) theory, explaining motives and gratifications for media use (Katz et al., 1974). U&G theory has been proven well suited not only to explain the motives for social media use (Stafford et al., 2004; Hunt et al., 2012; Papacharissi & Rubin, 2011), but also distinguishing them across different platforms (Quan-Haase & Young, 2010), features (Smock, Ellison, Lampe & Wohn, 2011) and in the context of culture (Kim, Sohn & Choi, 2010). Traditionally, “entertainment”, “passing-time” and “information-seeking” have been identified as motivations for consuming television news, internet news but also for social media use (Hunt et al., 2012; Sheldon, 2008).

Another important motivation for social media use is what Norwegian media researcher Richard Ling and Birgitte Yttri (2004, p.143) define as the “micro-coordination” of everyday life: It structures the way in which people arrange their social interactions. Especially with the advent of applications such as Whatsapp, Viber or Tango, that allow for cheap instant messaging, formation of groups, updates, calls and sharing of files, everyday coordination is even more dependent on social media.

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“Self-expression” is regarded as an additional motivation and gratification, specific to the use of Social media. Research shows that creating an online personality gives people the opportunity to express parts of their identity, their opinions or showcase their creativity (Livingstone, 2010; Tosun, 2012).Even though identity and the differences of culture are continuously emphasized (Wilding, 2006; Kim et al., 2010) none of the existing literature on motivation and gratifications for social media use investigates people in crisis situations nor people whose identity is in the process of being redefined. Refugees’ motives for social media use (especially on their journeys) might be different or differently evaluated given their extraordinary situation.

Social Implications

Social media applications are further characterized by a high degree of interactivity and by a focus on user-generated content. In particular, that means users become producers in communicative interactions, which has implications for social communal life. Henry Jenkins (2006) suggests that social media typifies the nature of the participatory culture as an underlying feature of the contemporary media landscape, in which people are no longer simply positioned at the receiving end of processes of communication. Castells and Cardoso (2006) name this the paradigm of a “self mass-communication”, a landscape in which individuals can broadcast their messages to large audiences (p. 416). For Castells, the advent of mass-self communication carries the promise of autonomy from bureaucratic structures and increasing scope for political and social engagement from below (Gerbaudo, 2012). In the context of refugees, this can be transferred to the freedom from official bureaucratic sources to receive and transmit information. Notably since the Arab Spring, mediated mobilization theory deals with the power of social media as a mean for collective action (Eltantawy & Wiest, 2011; Howard et al., 2011; Khonker, 2011). It is argued that as social movements are characterized by the absence of a formal

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communications, in this case social media (Gerbaudo, 2012). As Eltawhany and Wiest (2011) summarize: “Social Media technologies have been used especially in organizing and

implementing collective activities, promoting a sense of community and collective identity among marginalized group members” (p.1207).

Overall, the review of literature from refugees studies, migrant and diaspora media As well as digital network studies indicates that: (1) Media used by refugees has had minimal investigation. (2) (Social) media use in the context of migration has been more comprehensively studied, suggesting that social media can facilitate migration but is missing the concrete steps of the journeys. (3) Social media uses, gratifications and its potential for social change have been widely studied and conceptualized however not in the context of forced migration.

Thus, by answering the central question of what role social media plays for refugees on their journeys to Europe, this research has the potential to expand the aforementioned disciplines and add value to the discourse of refugees and new media. Given the explorative character of this study it will be possible to, on the one hand, investigate if traditional motives for social media use can be conferred to the situation of forced migration and on the other hand, possibly add new refugee (crisis-) specific motives for social media use. Further, deeper insights into online

refugee networks building on theory of digital migration networks might emerge.

Methodology

This study reports on a four -month qualitative study that analyzed interviews conducted with thirteen refugees and asylum seekers regarding their experiences of using social media before and during fleeing and resettlement. The current influx of refugees to Europe is complex since refugees come via different ever-changing routes, which reflects in the sample. The following section provides clarification.

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Context Refugee Routes

According to data of the UNHCR (2015a) the year 2015 has so far seen the sharpest increase of people arriving in Europe to seek asylum. The International Organization for Migration (IOM, 2016) estimates that more than 1,011,700 people arrived by sea in 2015, and almost 34,900 by land. In 2014 around 280.000 people came by sea and land. The Mediterranean has been named “the 21st century’s most lethal migratory route” (Fargues, 2015, p.2). In 2015, a total of 3.770 deaths had been reported, 1.357 for 2016 as of May 11 (IOM, 2016).

The Migration Policy Centre’s Philippe Fargues (2015) argues that the sharp increase goes hand in hand with a change in migration patterns: Since 2014/15 the distribution of smuggled migrants by nationality has dramatically shifted from a majority of so-called migrants (low likelihood of being granted asylum) to a majority of refugees (high probability of receiving asylum). In 2015, the largest groups of arrivals were Syrians with 66% in Greece and Eritreans, with 25% in Italy (IOM, 2016). A combination of factors explain these changes:

1) The worsening conditions in origin countries, especially the civil war in Syria and rise of extremists in Iraq (UNHCR, 2015a; UNHCR, 2015b)

2) The deterioration of conditions in neighboring countries of first asylum, which has led to tightening of the borders in Jordan and Lebanon (Banulescu-Bogdan & Fratzke, 2015). 3) The lack of refugee status, protection, possibilities to work or education for most refugees

in their current country of residence (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan) (Fargues, 2015; Dorman, 2014).

Refugees travel via different routes, observed and named by Frontex, the European Border Management Agency (Figure 1). The patterns have shifted during the last years, with the biggest shift in 2014 in the maritime routes:

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Figure 1. Migration Routes to Europe. Data provided by Frontex, 2016.

• The Central Mediterranean Route is extremely dangerous (Figure 2) and has led to deadly tragedies within the last years. Boats depart from Libya, Tunisia or Egypt and land on Italy or Malta. The use of this route has decreased in 2015, due to higher instability in Libya and the opening of the Balkan Route. For African refugees it is still the only way to reach Europe (Banulescu-Bogdan & Fratzke, 2015)

• The Eastern Mediterranean Route (Greece/Aegean Sea) has become the primary maritime route in 2015 because the trip is safer and shorter (Figure 3). Most refugees reach the islands close to Turkey (Lesvos, Chios, Kos, Samos) and then travel by ferry to Athens (Fargues, 2015).

The trip by boat to Greece or Italy is not the only part of the journey. Before (through North Africa and Turkey) and after from Southern Europe to the North-Western EU countries most refugees travel by land. The EU’s so-called "Dublin rules" state that refugees must claim asylum in the first EU state they reach. In practice, this has left Greece, Italy and Hungary to accept a

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disproportionate number of claims. Most refugees want to go to countries in which they either have family members, expect high chances for asylum and/or stability and welfare (Luft, 2016). Before August 2015 refugees who reach Greece, either buy fake passports to travel by airplane with the smugglers (expensive) or have to travel illegally through the Non-EU Balkan countries of Macedonia and Serbia to reach either Croatia or Hungary (Western Balkan Route). Germany and Sweden are the most prominent destinations (see Appendix A); both countries already had a Syrian community before the beginning of the war. On 25 August 2015, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) suspended the Dublin rules and halted all applicable deportations to other European countries, which encouraged thousands to come from Hungary to Germany (Beise, 2015). This led to unprecedented numbers of refugees seeking to re-enter the EU through Hungary’s borders with Serbia. After Hungary completed the construction of a fence

Figure 3. Arrivals in Greece and Italy. Cumulative data provided by The Migration Policy Centre, 2016. Used with permission. Figure 2. Dead and missing people on the

routes to Greece and Italy. 2010-2016. Monthly data. Data provided by The Migration Policy Centre, 2016. Used with permission.

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on its border with Serbia in September, the flow of migrants shifted to Croatia. In all of 2015, the region recorded 764 000 detections of illegal border crossings, a 16-fold rise from 2014 (Frontex, 2016). As Balkan countries announced to shut down their borders in March 2016, the route remains officially closed, leaving around 40.000 refugees stuck in Greece. Refugees who reach Italy usually cross the border with France to avoid controls in Switzerland and then move on

from Paris, by train or by car. There are also ways to go through Austria (Luft, 2016).

Method of data selection `

This research is based on 13 in-depth interviews with Eritrean (1), Iraqi (1), Syrian (10) and Sudanese (1) refugees. The interviews were conducted between March and May 2016 in the cities of Athens (2), Amsterdam (6) and Utrecht (1), as well as via video-call with refugees in Sweden (2) and Germany (2). All the participants reached a European country within the last four years in order to seek asylum, either for political reasons or fleeing from war. The

participants were reached through a personal network and acquiesce in refugee camps; snowball sampling was used to reach more participants. The participants were purposively chosen to find people from a variety of different backgrounds, gender (3 female, 10 male), nationalities, ages (Range: 20-43, M = 30) dates of arrival in an European country (Oct. 2013 – Mar. 2016) and modes and routes of travelling to Europe (8 Eastern Mediterranean, 5 Central Mediterranean). Due to the explorative character of this study, the different refugee routes and periods outlined above were respected. The result is a wide range of stories resembling journeys to and through many countries. The interviews were conducted in the participant’s home or via video call and in the participant’s preferred language (English or Arabic with translator) and later translated and transcribed. The interview took between 45 minutes and 2 hours. All respondents were informed about the protection and anonymity of their data, as well as the possibility to end the interview as the retelling of the story might revive traumatizing events. All participants enjoyed telling their

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stories and provided private information without reservation. The semi-structured interviews were guided by a topic list based on the theoretical framework (see Appendix B). The first part of the questions dealt with the general use of social media and a description of their networks.

Table 1. List of Participants.

# Travel Route Country

of origin Country of residence Age Ge nde r Year of arriv al Lang uage

1 Eastern Mediterranean - Flight from Greece to Germany. Train to Amsterdam

Syria (Palestini an)

Netherlands 30 M 2015 Eng.

2 Eastern Mediterranean - Stuck in Greece Syria (Kurdish)

Greece 21 F 2016 Eng.

3 Eastern Mediterranean - Stuck in Greece Syria Greece 43 M 2016 Eng.

4 Lebanon - Algeria - Libya - Central

Mediterranean - Flight to Milan (provided by Italy). Taxi to France - train to Amsterdam

Syria Netherlands 34 M 2014 Eng.

5 Eritrea - Sudan - Libya by truck/transporter - Central Mediterranean - France - train to Amsterdam

Eritrea Netherlands 20 M 2015 Eng.

6 Eastern Mediterranean - Balkan Route walking (before opening) and train

Syria Netherlands 25 M 2014 Eng,

7 Eastern Mediterranean - Balkan Route (after opening) - walking and busses

Syria Sweden 29 F 2015 Eng.

Skype 8 Eastern Mediterranean - Balkan Route (after

opening) - walking and busses

Syria Germany 33 F 2015 Arab.

Skype 9 Sudan - Libya - Central Mediterranean, car to

France, train to the Netherlands

Syria Netherlands 36 M 2014 Arab.

10 Egypt - Central Mediterranean, car to Sweden Syria Sweden 28 M 2013 Arab.

11 Eastern Mediterranean, Balkan Route, (before opening), walking trains

Syria Germany 31 M 2015 Arab.

Skype 12 Sudan - Libya Central Mediterranean, car to

France, train to Amsterdam

South Sudan

Netherlands 29 M 2014 Eng.

13 Iraq - Turkey, Eastern Mediterranean, Balkan route (after opening), walking and busses

Iraq/Kur distan

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Later more concrete questions regarding the different motivations, information and communication purposes as well as the connection to problems on different stages of the journey were asked. The interviews ended with questions on the use of social media in their new country and open questions for reflection. Newly emerging themes were then adapted and added for the next interview (see Appendix B).

Data Analysis

For the analysis, the interviews were transcribed and coded with the help of the program Atlas-ti. Reflective notes were added to the data after each interview and emerging themes were added to the topic list after each interview (see Appendix B). The analysis has followed a grounded theory approach, which implies a cyclical process of data collection, data analysis and the development of a coding scheme until a saturation point is reached, while aiming to develop new theory from the data (Green & Thorogood, 2004). Grounded theory provides a set of flexible guidelines for analyzing textual data, analytical rigor for interpretation of data and developing empirical theory. The approach is especially well suited for understanding human behavior in the context of social processes and cultural norms (Hennink, Hutter & Bailey, 2011, p. 206). Through constant readjusting of the codes, in several rounds of coding based on the initial theoretical framework, newly emerging themes could be integrated and a scheme of relationships between the codes evolved. The results were then structured around the four main themes: communication, coordination, information-seeking and objective/subjective safety. The following result section puts forward the findings and embeds them in the theoretical framework in order to give them more depth.

Results

Among the 13 interviewees, 11 used social media on their journeys to Europe. A 21-year old guy from Eritrea explained that the internet and social media sites in his country are blocked,

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while a man (29) from Sudan said that smugglers took his smartphone1. The other interviewees of Syrian and Iraqi nationality all used social media platforms. All of them had a Facebook profile with between 100 - 900 contacts or followers, mostly friends and family, before they started their journey. Additionally Whatsapp and Viber were named by all participants as important communication platforms. One woman had an Instagram account; Twitter was rarely used by only two participants. To compare, most of the participants said they would spend around 2-3 hours on Facebook when they were still in their country.

The Syrians agreed that in their country and especially among young people social media (especially Facebook) was used often - Two participants mentioned, jokingly that even their parents are extensively using Facebook. Half of the Syrian participants mentioned that the use of social media has changed since the revolution in 2011. Before the war, it had been a tool for entertainment, fun and communication, but since the revolution it became a vital source of information about the war. One participant mentioned the emergence of new Facebook groups about the revolution:

“Every city has their own page about the revolution and they post updates. […]So for instance if you are from Homs and you live in Damascus you can access information updates, videos about your city, what the city needs, what is happening.”

Regarding the revolution, a former activist also mentioned the importance of surveillance free communication on Facebook and the ability to create fake political accounts to spread news. Among the interviewees were a Kurdish man from Iraq and a Kurdish woman from Syria. Both of them described the culture of Social media as an important tool for the Kurdish community. A 35-year old Iraqi journalist said:

1

In the following if not explicitly mentioned the Eritrean and Sudanese men are excluded, since they did not use social media on their journey. However, there answers are relevant for the forthcoming limitations.

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“As you know the Kurdish society is politicized and polarized, that is reflected online - the reason for the popularity of Facebook is that there is no censorship whereas there is censorship on other media such as print and TV”.

The Kurdish - Syrian woman mentioned that she and her friends use it to stay updated about the fighting of the Kurdish Protection Units (YPG, PYG).

The culture of the participants was not the only influence on how refugees used social media. Often external factors would impact the importance of social media. Refugees who took the Central Mediterranean route with the boat to Italy for instance, all described bad or expensive internet connection in Libya and Algeria or no connection on the boat, leaving them without communication and information tools. One participant lost his phone when his boat capsized. Others described that they did not have enough time to buy new SIM cards when they reached a new country within the Balkan route or would share data bundles with other refugees to save money.

Bearing the cultural and external factors in mind, the next analysis section will show that in cases in which social media was used before and during the flight, there has been an increase in the overall importance of social media in reference to the levels of communication,

coordination and information. Additionally, a new form of gratification emerges from the use of social media: the “increase of objective and subjective safety”.

Communication

All participants who had a phone used social media to keep in touch with their families and friends throughout the journey. For many, it was the most important function on and after the journey. As soon as they connected to the internet, they would send a message to their family. One woman reported that one day, after her arrival on the Greek island, a group of men

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they asked for permission to use her phone with which they could make an internet phone call with their families through Viber. These findings confirm existing literature, showing that social media facilitates the communication with “strong ties” through cheap and immediate one-to-one communication, regardless of the distance (Madianou, 2012; Madianou & Miller, 2013). The findings of Komito (2011) even suggest a further step, expressing that social media practices and its interactive capabilities enables a common experience that resembles the sense of a

community. When asked to describe their current social media usage in their present country of residence, all of them named daily communication with their relatives and close friends back in Syria or other diaspora places as the most important feature. A Syrian engineer seems to

experience what Pedraza (2013) describes as participation in the world left behind and speaks of the notion of community:

“I can’t imagine my life without social media. It is the only way to keep in touch with my family.[...] Most of the time the Syrian networks fail, so normal phone calls are not possible. You are really far away, but somehow you still have a way to be with them. They say things like ‘Oh you look skinny or fat’. I ask my mother for recipes, we have long video talks.”

This sense of being part of a community and the intimacy and immediacy that social media brought to conversations seemed particularly important for the refugees on their journey. In a situation where they were often completely detached from all previous communities, some described that they found a new community with the people they shared the journey (especially the boat) with: “We call it the ‘death road’ and the people you meet are your blood friends - I am still in touch with them through social media [Whatsapp group]”, said a 30-year old Syrian man. Others described that social media and the community made them aware that their identity is not related to their physical locality. A Kurdish woman, who is stuck in Greece tells:

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“All the time you feel really bad here and on the journey. You don’t count anything. Everyone is a number. You wait, you do that, you are just one refugee of 5.000. But I carry my friends with me [...] I think that is why everyone wants to charge their phones and internet, to remember who they are.”

Interestingly, especially bearing in mind the extensive culture of Facebook sharing described by the participants, none of the interviewees created reams of content during their journey, rather some shared one photo when they arrived or nothing at all. Reasons named were either fear of negative influence on asylum procedure, bad or missing internet connection or shame of being a refugee.

However, the findings suggest that the simple passive consumption of social media content can convey identity, remind someone of who they are, or that they were someone and thus give refugees back a sense of belonging. As a Syrian student phrases it: “Because we are people stuck between past and present, we want to know what is happening in our past so we don’t forget who we are and social media is the only way.”

The participants also mentioned that social media enabled them to communicate with “weak ties”, which will be highlighted in the part about information-seeking.

Coordination

Those who had access to the internet during their journeys, especially the people coming through the Eastern Mediterranean route, used social media for important daily coordination. Five of them contacted their smugglers and coordinated meetings with them through Whatsapp and Viber. A Syrian woman describes the coordination: “You talk to them [smugglers in Turkey] about where to meet, they send you the location where the boat starts, information about the journey, you are always waiting for their updates.”

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Syrian refugees on the Central Mediterranean road to Italy report that smugglers use regular networks for phone-calls (Libyan, Egyptian) or that they would contact them in person. Here, social media appears to be an important tool to coordinate money transfers with the smugglers, as a Syrian who went from Libya to Italy recalls:

“When I was in Libya, my money was in Lebanon and Syria with my friends, so I told the people with my money to meet with the guys from the smugglers. I called them via a Whatsapp and Viber and I can share the contacts with them.”

Others who came this road agreed, that for safety reasons, they did not take any cash money with them and used social media for the transfer coordination. The fact that all refugees who had access to the internet used social media to coordinate their journeys, confirms the importance of social media for the “micro-coordination” of everyday life (Ling & Yttri, 2004), especially during migration movements, where the “everyday life” is characterized by uncertainty and danger. The acceleration of coordination processes that are crucial for the continuation of the journey (e.g. transfer of money to smugglers) makes social media gain more importance in the refugee’s lives.

Information

All Syrian and Iraqi participants reported that social media enabled one-to-one

communication with “weak ties”, often providing them with helpful information. Almost all of them contacted cousins or friends of friends before their journeys, through social media

(especially Facebook) to ask about the journey. Only one guy who came in 2013 (considerably early) contacted only his uncle, whom had resided in Sweden for a long time. Everyone reported having been contacted by friends, relatives and even strangers to discuss their situation and journey after they reached Europe. They would report honestly about what they know and how they felt: Some would actively encourage their friends to follow suit as they considered the

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situation positive while others remained neutral or advise them not to take the same route due to personal bad experiences.

The results also show that the later the refugees came, the more weak and (strong ties) they were able to contact. This confirms literature on migration, which proposes that weak ties are often more valuable to migrants than strong ones (Granovetter, 1973) and that social media makes it possible to access a wider range of “weak ties” (Haythornthwaite, 2002; Dekker & Engbersen, 2014). A Syrian filmmaker believes that weak ties on Social media have only made the scale of current movement possible:

“If you compare it to 13 years ago when there was war in Iraq, the situation was similar, if there were social media lots of people would have come to Europe as well. But nobody knew how to go. Now everybody knows someone in Germany over two connections in the network on Facebook”

Dekker and Engerbsen (2014) further find that social media, through its inherent network structure can lower the threshold to migrate. Partly, this seems to be true for refugees coming to Europe. None reveal social media effecting their departure, rather assisting and influencing when, how and to where they might leave. Only one refugee said that he felt a kind of jealousy, seeing people having a much nicer life in Europe through Facebook:

“Since I have a big network [900 contacts] I see everyday a person friends of friends leaving and reaching Europe. And you get jealous and start thinking, why don’t I do it? I am trying to imagine my life without Facebook, I would have never know that people left.”

The fact that only one person mentioned that social media motivated him to leave might be result of striving for social desirability: Refugees do not want to be seen as invaders, rather referring to

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the emergency situation in their home country and urgency to leave, which in many cases proves to be true.

However, it seems that there are differences in the “information-seeking” usages of social media between migrants and refugees, not only in the one-to-one communication but also in the many-to-many communication mode, particularly in regards to Facebook groups and pages. In fact, all participants reported that they did not access any official sources and generally have low trust in the media as provider of information. The participants mentioned three kinds of Facebook

groups and pages, from which they obtained information. Firstly, “the travel agencies”, groups or pages created by smugglers to attract more people.

“The pages are named like ‘Abu Ahmed for immigration’. They post:’If you want to go to Europe contact me on this number through Whatsapp’. And there is ‘Abu Ahmed - the journey on the rubber boat’, or ‘Abu Ahmed - the journey on the yacht’. They even ask people to take videos on the boat and post them on the page.”

Secondly, previous studies highlight the importance of the internet as a social medium in migrant networks to gain information about the destination country (Nedelcu, 2012). Participants agreed and mentioned the existence of closed (content is only readable if accepted by the admins) or public groups (content is readable even if not accepted) called “Syrian community in

Turkey”2,“Syrians in Sweden”3, “Syrian people in Germany”4. Members exchange news about the country, share information about the asylum procedure, job opportunities and housing issues. They mentioned that the groups are open and usually everybody will be accepted by the admins. Additionally, there are specific Facebook pages where administrators provide information about

2

Closed group, 32.205 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/syriansinturkey, access 16.05.2016. 3

Closed group, 26.208 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SyrieriSverige/, access 16.05.2016 4

Public group, 128.713 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SyrianHomeBerlin/, access 16.05.2016.

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the country5. Participants said that they accessed these groups before they made their journey to Europe in order to inform themselves about the country they are going to. One interviewee, who arrived in Holland in 2014, even believes that these groups had an influence on the large scale of immigration to Sweden in the first years:

“I know a lot of people from my boat wanted to go to Sweden. Why? Because Sweden was the first country who had a lot of pages in Arabic about the asylum procedure, explained in an easy way. They explained the culture and all the important information in Arabic.”

Though raising an interesting point, his argument can academically not be confirmed. So far, migration experts assume that there are specific “push- and -pull” factors for the choice of countries by migrants and refugees, including family ties, networks of strong and weak ties, chances in and duration of asylum procedure etc.. However, there is no research on how social media influences these pull factors through providing a network or direct information. Stefan Luft (2016) analyzes the current refugee crisis, arguing that the positive reports (one-to-one communication) of refugees via social media should be considered a new pull-factor, but leaves out the networking structure of social media such as Facebook groups.

Thirdly, all Syrian and Iraqi interviewees pointed out that they accessed general and specific Facebook groups that provide information about the journey. Specific groups were, for instance specifically for Syrian people stuck in Greece6, or people who want to travel without a smuggler7. More general groups were for people who want to go from Turkey to Greece8 or

5

For instance “The people of Syria in Germany”, 144.834 Likes: https://www.facebook.com/ ﺔﯿﻟﺎﺠﻟا-ﺔﯾرﻮﺴﻟا-ﻲﻓ-ﺎﯿﻧﺎﻤﻟا-416961921803117/ , access 16.05.2016.

6

Closed group, 19.842 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Greece.Syrians/, access 16.05.2016.

7

Closed group, 4.222 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/828698937192450/, access 16.05.2016.

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general immigration to Europe9. All these groups were described as providing helpful

information, an environment for free sharing of experiences and immediate answers. A woman from Syria who travelled with her mother said she needed information when she reached the Greek mainland to go to Macedonia: “I posted in the group if it’s better to start from the port directly or go to the city center. People helped me immediately and told me the different options and prices.”

Others checked which Greek island would be the best to reach in terms of procedure, or received daily updates on the border to Macedonia. Their experiences with the groups have to be considered in the context of their routes and situation. While refugees who come via Greece have a variety of groups as points of information to access, others who came through the Central Mediterranean route generally reported less interaction with the groups and less information-seeking in general since they were more dependent on the smugglers, as a Syrian man explains: “There was no information. Mostly the smugglers take the decision. If you say something they will shoot you”. For others, important life decisions were based on information provided in the groups. A Syrian who was caught by the police in Hungary, had to give his fingerprint there and therefore was later denied the asylum procedure in Sweden. He asked in a Facebook group for help:

“I found people with the same experience with fingerprint before me, I asked them where to go and they tell me that I can come to Germany and take the procedure here. I asked about 10 people, all Syrians, and they told me about their application and they have status now, so I decided to go there.”

8

Closed group, 14.608 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/183667391976237/, access 16.05.2016.

9

Closed group, 45.477 members: https://www.facebook.com/groups/861674377272949/, access 16.05.2016.

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In summary, all respondents reported that through Facebook (both through one-to-one communication, smuggler pages and through groups) they could obtain information that was publicly not available.

One must consider that given the anonymity of the internet and the free atmosphere of sharing, also incorrect information can be spread easily, which lead to trust issues among the interviewees. A Syrian man recalls that someone once posted on the groups for Syrians in Holland that the Dutch King would be giving a New Year’s gifts of 150 € to all Syrians. This lead to great excitement in the Syrian community and in the end, confirmed as false. Others said that they would always double-check the information but generally get honest opinions and experiences and usually considered it a source of altruistic solidarity.

Increase of objective and subjective safety

Sociologist Ahsan Ullah (2014) identifies “three powerful notions – rights, safety and identity – as critical areas where the lives of refugees are caught in a difficult predicament”(p.2). As previously outlined, social media can have a positive influence on strengthening the identity of refugees. Through the interviews, it became clear that social media can have positive

influence in another field: safety.

Psychological literature that deals with humans in crisis situations, traditionally distinguishes between two kinds of threats to safety: direct threat and uncertainty (see e.g. Lantermann, Döring-Seipel, Eierdanz & Gerhold, 2009). While the first category refers to the “objective safety”, the real measurable threats, the second refers to “subjective safety”, or the perception of one’s own risks (Brauch, 2011; Shenassa, Liebhaber & Enzeama, 2006; Fullerton, Ursano, Reeves, Shigemura & Grieger, 2006) Refugees asked in this study reported the existence of both of them. Objectively, in particular the crossing of the Mediterranean on small,

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of seeing other people die by falling from the trucks or swimming through corpses due to the capsizing of their boat. Subjectively, there is the uncertainty - the question of what will happen? Interviewees said that they were afraid of not reaching their relatives in Germany or getting stuck in the wrong country, such as Hungary where they must be fingerprinted or even sent back to Italy. Generally, they feel vulnerable due to their position as stateless and without rights.

In reference to “objective safety” the Syrian and Iraqi refugees who came through the Eastern Mediterranean route said that they were given the Whatsapp numbers of the Greek and Turkish coast guards. They also created groups with volunteers on the other side where in case of emergency they could send the location of the boat to be rescued. Refugees who came via the Central Mediterranean road objectively had a much less safe trip, due to a longer distance, more overfilled boats, less reception, no GPS signals and only one satellite phone per boat with no available means of interactive communication.

As it is hard to measure the safety of refugees, it is much more important to look at the perceived safety. Two thirds of the respondents mentioned the feeling of “being able to

potentially contacting someone” as influencing their perceived safety. A Syrian who came via the Eastern Mediterranean route said:

“You don’t know what will happen. You have no idea what you will go through.

Everything changes all the time, so all the information you get makes you feel safer, or you think you are safer. Nothing is logical on this journey. You are always afraid. Sometimes, even looking at your phone and knowing that you could contact someone makes you feel safer.”

Some would be worried about contacting people for money, others for contacting the coast guard via Whatsapp, or even felt safer when they knew all their contacts were still online on Facebook after their phone broke due to the capsizing of the boat.

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Refugees, who came via Italy and did not have the chances of communication, said that the loss of control over their lives was the worst experience. A Syrian man who was at sea for six days said: “We all thought we will die, and you can’t even tell goodbye to people. You have no control over anything. We didn’t know where we are going.”

Control was another reoccurring theme during the interviews when talking about safety. People who had access to social media for longer parts of their journey mentioned that the

information they were provided with gave them back this control over their lives or how the Iraqi man named it “the power of choice”. Participants mention that the variety of information found particularly through Facebook groups, gave them back the feeling of control. They felt that they had the choice between different travel options and could evaluate costs and benefits.

Additionally, some discussed the ability to coordinate their lives, as described above, to regain control and the communication with friends and family as giving them comfort and a feeling of safety.

Lastly, the Facebook groups seemed to increase the feeling of safety through creating a sense of community. The Iraqi Kurdish respondent said: “You know that many other people before you have made it: your friends, your cousins and all the other thousands of strangers in the groups”

To summarize, the findings highlight the importance refugees attach to their phones and especially to social media, in regards to aspects of objective and subjective safety. Even though they were in an objectively, highly unsafe situation, social media helped them to increase their subjective safety. In regards to human being in crisis situations, the Uses and Gratification theory is given a new additional motive for social media use.

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Discussion

The rise of the internet and the emergence of social media has not only transformed the global media landscape, but has given vulnerable and marginalized communities, including refugees, a comparably cheap option to communicate, network and get their voices heard. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of social media for refugees who recently made their journeys to Europe. Results show that if social media can be used, it indeed plays a crucial role for refugees, as it moves from the periphery to the core of their lives. Interestingly, all participants made generalizations about the way they use social media. For instance Syrians would say that all the Syrians used social media the same way during the journey. As Kim et al. (2010) point out, culture has an influence on social media motivations and usage behavior, and may differ between “individualistic” and “collectivistic” societies. Members of a society as deeply divided by political, ethical and religious conflicts as in Syria still find a sense of commonality amongst themselves through the use of social media. This suggests that social media behavior or use can form part of a nation’s or community’s cultural identity. Such finding makes looking deeper into the cross-cultural examination of social media usage even more important. This link is reflected throughout the research on the use of social media and its

importance throughout the journeys to Europe. A 25-year old Syrian student from Damascus puts it in a nutshell:

“Syria is the Facebook nation. Everybody uses it a lot. They actually abuse it. If a guy tries a suit in a shop, he shares a picture, if a girl paints her nails as well. So of course this whole trip to Europe is completely happening on Facebook as well.”

Regarding the specific results, this study has encountered four levels on which this central role of social media manifests itself.

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First, respondents described how social media enabled them to communicate with ‘strong ties’ (family and friends) during their journey, and even let them virtually participate in the communities they left behind. For refugees, this was particularly important, as their families are worried about them, and are often still facing dangerous situations. These findings are in line with other studies that conclude that new internet technology can help migrants to overcome the detachment from their community (Madianou, 2012; Komito, 2011; Madianou & Miller, 2013). Reflecting on their communication behavior with their families back home, respondents

concluded that the immediacy and intimacy of social media allows them to actively participate in the communities they left as if they were still there. This adds valuable contribution to previous studies assuming that the availability of internet communication technologies changes migration experiences qualitatively (Pedraza, 2013).

Additionally, for some respondents the simple act of looking at their social media profiles could help remind them of their identity in an overall chaotic and often dehumanizing atmosphere. Sociologist Ahsan Ullah (2014) describes the loss of identity as one of the crucial aspects that makes refugees vulnerable. Often their social identity, the way others (smugglers, Europeans, the media, the police) see them, does not conform to their individual identity, the way they see themselves, anymore. They become a mass in which individual fates do not count. Elsewhere, communication scholars have conceptualized the relationship between identity and social media (e.g. van Dijk, 2006), especially naming “self-expression” (through sharing content, pictures, updates with a network) as one gratification of social media use, which allows for “the significance of who one is and what one does to show himself/herself” (Schao, 2008, p. 14). However, so far no study deals with people who feel that they have been deprived of their identity. Respondents’ answers indicate that the connection between identity and social media

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might be more complex than previously theorized. It suggests that the sole passive consumption of social media can reinforce or strengthen one’s identity in extraordinary situations.

Second and third, participants used social media for coordination and information-seeking reasons, which are typical motivations for social media use described in U&G theory (Hunt et al., 2012; Sheldon, 2008; Ling & Yttri, 2004). However, in the context of migration it becomes more crucial to the participants as they often depend on social media for planning and accelerating (coordination with smugglers, money-issues) their flight, which might in some cases be decisive moments for their future.

Information-seeking has been taking place through the activation of ‘weak ties’ on social media (one-to-one communication), which accords with Dekker and Engbersen’s (2014) findings that social media makes new ways of consolidating available for weak ties in the process of

migration. Additionally, a rising network of closed and semi-open Facebook groups was named as crucial point of information.

Participant’s statements in regards to the importance of information-seeking and coordination further point out a possible parallel between the implications of social media for social movements and the actual ‘physical’ movements of people. Certainly, specific features of social media such as the high degree of interactivity and user-generated content allowed refugees to establish what can be considered an alternative underground communication network (Dekker & Engbersen, 2014), autonomous from bureaucratic structures (Castells, 2006). Here again, one has to consider the cultural background of the participants: all of them reported very low trust in traditional media and did not contact official sources. Mediated mobilization theory (especially in the context of Arab societies during the so-called Arab Spring) highlights the importance of these autonomous structures on social media platforms for promoting a sense of community among marginalized group members in order for collective action to take place (Eltawhany &

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Wiest, 2011). Participants pointed out the free community-like atmosphere of solidarity within the Facebook groups, which often had impact on their decisions on the journey and might have mobilized other people to move. These structures, though extremely relevant for refugees and while they suggest the emergence of a counter public sphere, have not been studied yet.

Fourth, in some cases, social media (if available) could increase the ‘objective safety’ and the perceived ‘subjective safety’ of refugees. Asides from physiological needs such as food and water, safety is considered a basic human requirement and often the reason why refugees come to Europe in the first place. It has been found that psychologically healthy human being’s subjective perception of safety is influenced by information and trust, as well as self-efficiency, the ‘locus of control’ and the bond with groups (Porszolt, Polianski, Goergen & Eisemann, 2011;

Kubenz & Liegl, 2012)10. Throughout the interviews it became clear that social media could impact all of these categories for refugees travelling to Europe. Respondents would say that social media made them feel safer since they could self-efficiently call for help in case of

emergency. This is in line with psychologist Thorsten Grewe’s (2015) findings, which show that in case of emergency, the knowledge that one can contact people or institutions in a

self-determined way has a positive influence on the subjective safety. Furthermore, social media provided information that gave back refugees the control over their lives and the power of choice. Julian Rotter developed the concept of the locus of control in 1954. It refers to the extent in which individuals feel they have control over their situation. It is closely linked to

self-efficiency and has elsewhere been described to be positively correlated to subjective safety (Bartone, Johnson & Eid, 2010). Lastly, Kubenz and Liegl (2012) further name the bond with groups - the feeling of not being alone in a situation - as influencing subjective safety. This

10

Personality traits such as risk-aversion, neuroticism and inquisitive behavior also influence the perception of safety (Porszolt et al., 2011).

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research indicates that in the context of refugees travelling to Europe, besides the actual bonds made with other refugees on the “death road”, virtual groups (e.g. Facebook groups) have great importance to increase the subjective safety of refugees, as seeing the experience of others made them feel less alone.

Psychological studies regarding subjective safety (e.g. Kubenz & Liegl, 2012), however, have up to this point not found their way into (social) media literature. With the exception of studies analyzing soldiers’ communication with families back home, which point out the possibility of immediate interactive communication allowing for mutual assurance of safety (as facilitated best by social media) as crucial to mental health and increases subjective safety on both sides (Huebner, Mancini, Wilcox & Grass, 2007; Greene, Buckman, Dandeker & Greenberg, 2010).

The emerging theme of ‘increase of objective and subjective safety’ through social media can thus be considered an expansion to both psychological literature worth exploring in the future, as well as communication science’s U&G theory. As outlined before, social media usage and gratifications have not been conceptualized in the context of forced migration. The results of this study fill this gap, suggesting that in precarious situations ‘the increase of objective and subjective safety’ expands the list of motives for social media use. While ‘entertainment’

becomes almost irrelevant, information-seeking and coordination gain new qualitative relevance. Given the possible provision of safety but also influencing other crucial aspects to the human experience such as identity, sense of community, organization, the argument of this study is that social media plays a key role in the life of refugees on all stages of their journeys.

This study has encountered some limits to these levels. Firstly, as the researcher was European and thus not from the same culture, as mentioned above misunderstandings or social desirability could have occurred. Secondly, the ‘digital divide’ became obvious. Two refugees

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from Africa didn’t have the chance to use social media, however, still made it to Europe. They both said they would have felt safer and better with social media but relied on offline networks, whose importance has not been considered in this study. Thirdly, due to the explorative character of this study, the sample is not representative and does not allow for generalizations or causal claims, in particular due to the lack of demographic diversity (one example being the lack of elderly people having been reached). Moreover, the study expands knowledge into the use of social media in an extraordinary setting.

Further (quantitative) research, therefore, should concentrate on building upon these insights and new emerging themes, such as the relation between social media and identity, the impact of social media on subjective safety, and explore the structures of refugees Facebook groups. Furthermore, the study offers a unique combination of communication science literature on social media usage and psychological insights into human behavior in crisis situations, which should be considered an entry point for further exploration.

To conclude, since 2011, the increase of the global refugee population has accelerated every year. While in 2011 the UNHCR counted 42.5 million refugees worldwide, 2014 it were already 59.5 million (Luft, 2016). With conflicts worsening and numbers still rising, this global crisis is far from being solved. Simultaneously, more people than ever in history have access to internet technology and social media platforms, tendencies are also rising. The results of this study show that the combination of these two global trends has a direct influence on the personal experience of humans who are fleeing as social media plays a key role for refugees. This adds valuable support in debates around the issue of internet and technology access as a human right, in the particular context of refugee protection, as well as opening possibilities for future

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