Social Networking Through Diaspora

By Stephanie Reid

The word ‘diaspora’ has Greek origins, meaning ‘dispersal’. Originally, it only applied to the Jewish Diaspora from Israel (more specifically, Jerusalem) in 722 B.C. to 586 B.C.. However, a diaspora without a capital at the beginning loosely describes a large dispersal of people (Ma Mung, 2005).

Many diasporas have occurred in Australia, with the four main groups being: the Tongan, Vietnamese, Italian and Macedonian (Ben-Moshe et al, 2012). Through social networks, they have been able to continue their traditions, customs and religion in Australia. They are able to connect in social groups in real life as well as social groups online, due to the invention of Facebook and other forms of social media.

From: maravipost.com

Through social networking, these diasporas are able to communicate with family and friends in their home country as well. Generally, a diaspora is caused by war, famine, forced migration or immigration (Edwards, 2008), but places like Italy have developed since the time of the original diaspora, so they are able to connect through online services. 

Diasporic identities are maintained through narrative (Kuttainen, 2015). They maintain their connections to their home country through song, dance, religion, myth and cuisine. There are so many restaurants from different cultures all over Australia, as well as songs, religions and customs, that all originate through these diasporas that make us a very multicultural country, connecting us through new social networks.

References

Ben-Moshe, D., Pyke, J., & Baldassar, L. (2012). DIASPORAS IN AUSTRALIA: CURRENT AND POTENTIAL LINKS WITH THE HOMELAND. Citizenship And Globalisation Research Paper Series, 3(4), 1.

Edwards, Justin D. (2008). Diaspora. In Postcolonial Literature.  New York: Palgrave MacMillan

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Network, narratives, and the making of place: People Networks. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved fromhttp://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Ma Mung, Emmanuel (2005). Diaspora, Spatiality, Identities. Bilbao, Spain: University of Deusto.