The Ambivalent Potentials of Social Media Use by Unaccompanied Minor Refugees

Abstract

In 2015, an unprecedented number of unaccompanied minor refugees came to Europe. To verify reports in mass media as well as professionals’ and volunteers’ impressions regarding the importance of digital media, this empirical study was conducted in the summer of 2015 in cooperation with the “Children’s Charity of Germany” (Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk e.V.). The study focused on the question of how unaccompanied minor refugees use digital (social and mobile) media in the context of their forced migration to Germany. It explored how they use these media to stay in contact with family and friends in their country of origin and beyond, to establish new relationships, to orientate themselves in the receiving country, and to search for (professional) support. Thus, the role of digital media in maintaining transnational social networks and enabling participation in a receiving society is investigated. This article presents key findings and their theoretical implications as well as a methodological and ethical reflection on this research.