Diaspora,
Groups of people who have been removed from a location due to war, territorial
disputes or forced migration (kuttainen, 2015).
This
term originally referred to the spreading of the Jewish population 772BC.
Today, it refers to a much broader topic as the accounts of large dispersal of populations
continue to increase all over the world (Ma Mung, 2005, p.33).
With
mass movement of people Facebook is doing its best to keep up with all the big
stories which are happening in the world. The latest news which has completely
taken control of Facebook in this area is the approval for asylum seekers to be
accepted into Townsville
.
(Howell,
n.d.).
In
this case Facebook is not seen as bringing people together and keeping them in contact,
instead this is causing people in the area to take sides for or against the
idea. People are either happy that Australia is doing something about the large
numbers of asylum seekers who do not have a home. Or they are against the idea
because Townsville has many people who are homeless and do not have jobs, the
increase in the population will only make this problem even worse.
Diaspora’s
mean that a single population could be spread all over the world. In this case
Facebook is actually a very good tool to have, if a family is split up they
will still be able to get into contact with each other. Facebook can also help
to hold many separated families together as they find a safer place to live.
Although
Facebook is known for holding people together and keeping them in contact with
each other even when the family or friendship group is spread countries apart.
Sometimes Facebook can be the cause for a whole community to stand against the
idea of moving.
Ma
Mung, E. (2005). Diaspora, Spatiality, Identities. In Bosswick, W., &
Husband, C.
Comparative
European Research in Migration, Diversity and identities. (pp. 33-46).
University of Deusto
Kuttainen,
V. (2015). BA1002: People Networks, Week 7 Lecture
Retrieved from: http://www.jcu.edu.au/
Howell,
M. (n.d). Design Your Connection Strategy with UNCONNECTED People in
Mind.
Retrieved from: http://www.churchleaders.com/smallgroups/small-group
I agree, Facebook's easy communication and sharing of ideas can lead to divisions on controversial topics within communities. All you have to do is look at posts to do with coal seam gas exploration. There are heated arguments about this in reality but on social media people feel more obliged to put their opinion up, even if they would be more passive in reality. That being said, it is good that these people have been forced to care about the issue rather than sit on the fence.
ReplyDeleteThis is an angle I didn't even think of, I usually just assumed like many others, the diaspora people usually refer to is more about a group of people (families, communities) relocating, but I had completely overlooked the fact that individuals also travel for work and other reasons. The great thing about this is that relatives who have had to leave a country for fear of their lives are still able to keep in contact with their family members back in their home country for free (minus data costs). They can organise meeting points, request money and other aid, or even just let the rest of the family know that they are safe. This relocation though can vary in success and degrees of assimilation, although generally, whole communities do tend to flourish in their new environments culturally and economically,while perhaps not fully integrating with the culture (Kuttainen, 2015).
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI agree that Facebook is a wonderful method of being able to stay in touch with others and I’m sure this is a widely held opinion. However, I disagree that seeing the issue of refugees settling in Townsville on social network sites chooses people to take a side. I think the fact that a person is seeing it on Facebook makes it very easy for them to ignore it because it’s easier to just scroll past than to think about it. But undoubtedly, there will always be those people on Facebook who love to share their opinion and don’t hesitate to take a side. I think it would have been useful and beneficial if you had added a hyperlink to a news article about asylum seekers being accepted into Townsville as having knowledge of the topic would assist in understanding your post further and adding depth.