Snapping your way to Diaspora

This week's lecture involved a concept that I rarely thought applied to today's life and times. With further thought though, I realised that it isn't the case. Connectivity leads to us feeling displaced, and the definition of diaspora is a certain population spread or diffused to different locales. The only difference between diaspora of the old and new days, is that the population needn't necessarily be from the same geographical location. The internet age brings people together from different walks of life and places, for better or worse, and diaspora can be either the former or the latter.

Firstly, diaspora is a historical concept that has been evident in many cultures, most famously the Rastafarian people of Jamaica. Kuttainen (2015) says that "98% of the people of Jamaica are descendants of African slaves". So, the original Jamaicans were from Africa, an example of diaspora.While displaced cultures may find solace with each other and specialised areas (eg, Little Italy, Chinatown) this is not exclusive to the physical world. After all, Mung (2005) states "During the migration an identity develops and is based on the feeling of sharing a common origin, be it real or supposed". The point I am trying to make is that with social networks, and the globalisation of almost everything, one can have the feeling of displacement from within the confines of their own home! While this may sound paradoxical in nature, our ability to communicate instantly with friends, family and strangers can leave us feeling perhaps more comfortable in the abstract arms of these people on the other side of the planet. From that point on, when we see our friends' snaps while they are on holiday or even with their families in a different country (perhaps even, a different part of their own), the sudden shift back to reality may come as a shock, and could feel like a case of diaspora. It seems highly likely though that this may be a problem only for younger generations, as Expanded Ramblings explains, 71% of snapchat users in the US are under 34, food for thought.


References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: People Networks (Week 7 Lecture). [Powerpoint Slides]. Retrieved from www.learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Unkown, (2015). Wrecking Ball [image], 2015. Retrieved from: http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/ftpuploads/bloguploads/1213/funny-snapchat-wrecking-ball.jpg

Smith, C. (2015). By the Numbers: 60 Amazing Snapchat statistics. Retrieved September 14^th, 2015 from: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/snapchat-statistics/2/

Ma Mung, E. (2005) Diaspora, Spatiality, Identities. W. Bosswick & C. Husband (Eds), Comparative European research in migration, diversity and identities. Spain: University of Deusto.