5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Undoubtedly, one of the key characteristics that differentiate current migration processes is the vast use of social media by migrants. Many migrants use communication apps to navigate everyday life, such as gathering information about the host country, sharing news about the trip itself and from their home country, and developing relationships and communities in the receiving country to promote different forms of collaboration and resistance. Research has shown that social media is likely to influence how migrants settle into the host society, how they develop strong and weak ties with others, manage feelings of homesickness and nostalgia, and how they deal with the everyday challenges, such as entering the labour market. At the same time, social media has become an increasingly relevant tool for researchers seeking to use alternative methodologies to find “invisible” immigrant groups. For this panel we are requesting papers that discuss how migrants use social media to develop connections, forms of resistance, and collaborations; to evaluate their own migration intentions and alternative migration destinations, and how researchers can use social media to expand migration studies in this region. Papers can be submitted in English or Spanish are this panel is open to any geographical region.

This panel has 2 parts.