Abstract
This article focuses on the study of online communities and introduces an empirical study of social media production involving an online group called “Arab Canadians”. The study builds on Anderson’s concept of ‘imagined communities’ and argues that Facebook provides the platform for an online nation in which users, whether Canadians or prospective immigrants, interact and exchange ideas about a country whose imagined concept varies from one user to another. Facebook here is a virtual nation that offers the community members an imagined sense of identity and belonging which they aspire to get. The results of the study revealed that the majority of comments carry highly positive sentiments towards Canada and its people, yet there is evidence that some comments are moderated. The study concludes that the Facebook administrator functions as a centralized gatekeeper who filters online chatter and leads the discussion to a certain direction. Building on the theory of networked gatekeeping, the study argues that vertical and horizontal flows of communication shape the online debate that takes place in this virtual space. Through a close analysis of these practices, the article sheds light on the role of social media in shaping online identities constructed around virtual nationhood.
Highlights
This research empirically investigates an online community by exploring its social media expressions which are regarded as a horizontal type of communication
For the Arab Canadian community, Canada remains an imagined place, but this experience certainly applies to any other online community
This is mostly due to the way the Facebook page administrator asks questions and directs the online discussion, as she acts as a gatekeeper and plays a major role in highlighting the importance of the new or aspiring homeland for Arab immigrants
Summary
This research empirically investigates an online community by exploring its social media expressions which are regarded as a horizontal type of communication. The study attempts to understand the dynamics between horizontal and vertical communication in social media spaces, by analyzing the influence of a social media moderator on the discussions on a Facebook page This aspect of vertical communication is linked to the theory of networked gatekeeping, while Anderson’s concept of ‘imagined communities’ is used to highlight the way Facebook functions as a platform for virtual nationhood. These aspects are investigated through an empirical study of social media production involving an online group called ‘‘Arab Canadians’’. In Montreal and Ottawa, Arabs come second after Blacks as the largest
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