Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on New Findings in Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2018 | Page No: 95-108
DOI:
Appropriating the Internet, Building Social Capital:The Case of Filipino Diaspora in Japan
Reggy Figer
ABSTRACT:
In this paper, I explore on the crossing points of Filipino diaspora in Japan, the Internet, and social capital. I provide reflections and insights on how information technology affords a great potential in cultivating and enhancing social capital resources and capabilities particularly for people who are disconnected from the homeland. Using textual analysis of two Filipino cyber-communities in Japan, I found two emergent narratives online which can be surmised to home-making and support-making. These two nascent features of cybercommunities in Filipino context bring to the crux how the Internet has become a haven for communication amongst them. Moreover, the appropriation of the Internet by Filipino migrants in Japan also revealed positive relationship with social capital. The findings of the study showed that the Internet is facilitating migrants’ social capital through social networks, social support, and social trust online.
Keywords: