The role of social media as information infrastructure for the integration and information practices of migrant communities

Romuana Khai, H. Lalhruaitluanga, Ratnamala Vanamamalai

Abstract


Background: Chin migration from Myanmar to Mizoram has intensified due to political instability. Understanding how displaced populations develop information practices and navigate information barriers through digital platforms addresses critical gaps in Library and Information Science (LIS) research within migration contexts.
Purpose: This study investigates information practices of Chin migrants in Aizawl, examining how social media platforms function as alternative information infrastructure supporting everyday life information seeking (ELIS), information literacy development, and participation in transnational information communities.
Methods: Convergent mixed-methods research employed questionnaire surveys of 256 Chin migrants (206 adolescents aged 13–18; 50 adults aged 19+) selected via purposive and snowball sampling across four Aizawl localities, supplemented by five semi-structured key informant interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS; qualitative data underwent thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's framework.
Results: YouTube (100%), WhatsApp (93%), and Instagram (88.8%) emerged as primary information sources among adolescents, functioning as hybrid information ecosystems. Social media facilitated information-mediated integration: 68.4% reported digital platforms enabled access to local cultural information, while 71% acquired Mizo cultural knowledge through informal digital channels. However, significant barriers persist, including limited information literacy competencies, constrained device access, misinformation exposure, and language-based exclusion.
Conclusions: Social media operates as alternative information infrastructure where migrants develop sophisticated information practices to navigate complex information landscapes under displacement conditions. Findings demonstrate how marginalized populations construct information resilience when formal institutions remain inaccessible. Effective information services for displaced populations require: recognition of social media as legitimate infrastructure; mobile-optimized multilingual resources; community-based information literacy instruction; and library-NGO-community partnerships addressing systemic access barriers.


Keywords


Chin migrants; Information practices; Information literacy; Social media; Everyday life information seeking

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alam, K., & Imran, S. (2015). The digital divide and social inclusion among refugee migrants: A case in regional Australia. Information Technology and People, 28(2), 344–365. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-04-2014-0083

Alencar, A. (2018). Refugee integration and social media: a local and experiential perspective. Information, Communication & Society, 21(11), 1588–1603. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1340500

Alencar, A., Kondova, K., & Ribbens, W. (2019). The smartphone as a lifeline: an exploration of refugees’ use of mobile communication technologies during their flight. Media, Culture and Society, 41(6), 828–844. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443718813486

Andrade, A. D., & Doolin, B. (2019). Temporal enactment of resettled refugees’ ICT‐mediated information practices. Information Systems Journal, 29(1), 145–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12189

Borkert, M., Fisher, K. E., & Yafi, E. (2018). The Best, the Worst, and the Hardest to Find: How People, Mobiles, and Social Media Connect Migrants In(to) Europe. Social Media and Society, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118764428

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806

Castells, M. (2009). Communication Power. Oxford University Press

Castells, M. (2023). The Network Society Revisited. American Behavioral Scientist, 67(7), 940–946. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642221092803

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publication.

Evangelista, F., & Hasan, Z. (2021). … ) and Mexican sword plant (Echinodorus paleafolius) as a phythoremediation agent in reducing cadmium metal (Cd) in the upper Citarum River segment of …. fisheriesjournal.com. https://www.fisheriesjournal.com/archives/2021/vol9issue2/PartD/9-2-50-391.pdf

Fisher, K. E., Durrance, J. C., & Hinton, M. B. (2004). Information grounds and the use of need-based services by immigrants in queens, New York: A context-based, outcome evaluation approach. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 55(8), 754–766. https://doi.org/10.1002/ASI.20019

Fisher, K. E., Yefimova, K., & Yafi, E. (2016a). Future’s Butterflies: Co-designing ICT wayfaring technology with refugee Syrian youth. Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1145/2930674.2930701

Fisher, K. E., Yefimova, K., & Yafi, E. (2016b). Future’s Butterflies. Proceedings of the The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, 25–36. https://doi.org/10.1145/2930674.2930701

Gillespie, M., Osseiran, S., & Cheesman, M. (2018). Syrian Refugees and the Digital Passage to Europe: Smartphone Infrastructures and Affordances. Social Media and Society, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118764440

Kutscher, N., & Kreß, L. M. (2018). The Ambivalent Potentials of Social Media Use by Unaccompanied Minor Refugees. Social Media and Society, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118764438

Leurs, K., & Smets, K. (2018). Five Questions for Digital Migration Studies: Learning From Digital Connectivity and Forced Migration In(to) Europe. Social Media and Society, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118764425

Lingel, J. (2015). Information practices of urban newcomers: An analysis of habits and wandering. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(6), 1239–1251. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23255

Lloyd, A. (2010). Information Literacy Landscapes. Chandos Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1533/9781780630298

Lloyd, A. (2017). Information literacy and literacies of information: A mid-range theory and model. Journal of Information Literacy, 11(1), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.11645/11.1.2185

Lloyd, A., Kennan, M. A., Thompson, K. M., & Qayyum, A. (2013). Connecting with new information landscapes: Information literacy practices of refugees. Journal of Documentation, 69(1), 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411311295351

Martzoukou, K., & Burnett, S. (2018). Exploring the everyday life information needs and the socio-cultural adaptation barriers of Syrian refugees in Scotland. Journal of Documentation, 74(5), 1104–1132. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-10-2017-0142

Mcconnachie, K. (2018). Boundaries and belonging in the indo-Myanmar borderlands: Chin refugees in Mizoram. Journal of Refugee Studies, 31(3), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1093/JRS/FEY012

Merisalo, M., & Jauhiainen, J. S. (2020). Digital Divides among Asylum‐Related Migrants: Comparing Internet Use and Smartphone Ownership. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie, 111(5), 689–704. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12397

Oduntan, O., & Ruthven, I. (2017). Investigating the information gaps in refugee integration. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 54(1), 308–317. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2017.14505401034

Pautunthang, N. (2021). Internal Migration in Mizoram: Highlights of Census Data. Praxis International Journal of Social Science and Literature, 4(8), 103–117. https://doi.org/10.51879/PIJSSL/040814

Savolainen, R. (2016). Conceptual growth in integrated models for information behaviour. Journal of Documentation, 72(4), 648–673. https://doi.org/10.1108/JDOC-09-2015-0114

Savolainen, R. (2017). Information need as trigger and driver of information seeking: a conceptual analysis. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 69(1), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-08-2016-0139

Tongco, M. D. C. (2007). Purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, 5, 147–158. https://doi.org/10.17348/ERA.5.0.147-158

Udwan, G., Leurs, K., & Alencar, A. (2020). Digital Resilience Tactics of Syrian Refugees in the Netherlands: Social Media for Social Support, Health, and Identity. Social Media and Society, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120915587

Veronis, L., Tabler, Z., & Ahmed, R. (2018). Syrian Refugee Youth Use Social Media: Building Transcultural Spaces and Connections for Resettlement in Ottawa, Canada. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 50(2), 79–99. https://doi.org/10.1353/CES.2018.0016

Yafi, E., Yefimova, K., & Fisher, K. E. (2018). Young hackers: Hacking technology at Za’atari Syrian refugee camp. Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3174363

Zonunmawia, C. (2020). The Making and Un-making of ‘Chin-Kuki-Mizo’Identity in Indo-Myanmar Borderlands. Mizo Studies, 9(2), 212




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/inf.v6i1.69305

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Lalhruaitluanga Lalhruaitluanga Lalhruaitluanga, Romuana Khai Khai, Ratnamala Vanamamalai Vanamamalai

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Informatio Indexed by:

Editorial Office :
Library and Information Science Study Program, Building 3 Floor 2, Faculty of Communication Science, Universitas Padjadjaran
Jl. Raya Bandung Sumedang Km. 21 Jatinangor, Sumedang 45363

Principal Contact :
Phone : 08122184219
Email : rully.khairul@unpad.ac.id