Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
Date Submitted: Feb 1, 2022
Date Accepted: Mar 31, 2022
‘You don’t understand how I express myself’: A qualitative study exploring social media and online digital technology use among Muslim young people and parents living in Australia
ABSTRACT
Background:
Digital technology and social media use are common among young people in Australia and globally. Research suggests that young people have both positive and negative experiences online but we know little about the experiences of culturally diverse populations.
Objective:
This study aimed to explore the positive and negative experiences of digital technology and social media use among young people and parents from Muslim backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia.
Methods:
This study involved a partnership between researchers and a not-for-profit organisation that work with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. We adopted a participatory and qualitative approach and designed the research in consultation with young people from Muslim backgrounds. Data were collected through in-person and online focus groups with 33 young people aged 16-22 years and 15 parents aged 40-57 years. Data were thematically analysed.
Results:
We generated three themes: maintaining local and global connections, a paradoxical space for identity and belonging among young Muslims and the digital divide between young Muslims and parents. Results highlighted that social media was an important extension of social and cultural connections, particularly during COVID-19 when people were unable to connect through school or places of worship. Young participants perceived social media as a space where they could establish their identity and feel a sense of belonging. However, participants were also at risk of being exposed to discrimination and unrealistic standards of beauty and success. Although parents and young people shared some similar concerns, there was a large digital divide in online experiences. Both groups implemented strategies to reduce social media use, with young people believing that having short technology-free breaks during prayer and quality family time was beneficial for their mental wellbeing.
Conclusions:
Programs that address technology-related harms must acknowledge the benefits of social media for young Muslims across identity, belonging, representation and social connection. Further research is required to understand how parents and young people can create environments that foster technology-free breaks to support mental wellbeing.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.