This study explored how U.S.-born children of Central American immigrants develop a sense of belonging through their engagement on social media. With young people already using technology as a tool for individual expression and political engagement (Jenkins et al., 2009; Kahne et al., 2016), this study sought to understand how belonging is developed and maintained within online spaces. The need to belong fulfills a basic desire to maintain attachments and relationships, but its absence can lead to a number of negative physical and psychological effects (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Understanding the factors that encourage or hinder feelings of belonging for children of Central American parents is necessary as their community has been routinely vilified, particularly on social media. With more young people likely to be exposed to divisive anti-immigrant rhetoric online as more people flee violence and corruption in Central America, this study focused on how participants perceive of themselves and shape their sense of belonging from these online experiences at a time of rising nationalism and xenophobia.

This study addressed the following research questions: 1) What types of immigration-related content do children of Central American parents confront on social media, 2) how do they respond and engage with this content, and 3) how do these interactions shape their sense of belonging as U.S. citizens and members of an ethnic community. These questions were guided by Nira Yuval-Davis’s politics of belonging framework (2006) which identifies the social locations, personal identifications, and attachments where belonging is constructed and maintained. My study diverged from her framework by including online spaces as locations where belonging is also constructed. I also drew on James Banks’s failed citizenship framework (2015) to understand how participants’ sense of belonging or exclusion can produce different conceptions of citizenship. While fully recognized and accepted citizens develop strong attachments with the nation-state, those who experience failed citizenship feel alienation if they are excluded based on their race or culture. These feelings can however lead to different actions such as the pursuit of social justice and equality through civic action (2015).

Interviews were conducted with 10 participants, five male and five female, over the age of 18 who were born in the United States to two foreign-born parents of Central American heritage. Participants were recruited from organizations serving the Central American community in the Southern California area and from student-led college clubs. The findings show that participants’ engagement on social media has had an impact on their sense of belonging, helping them maintain stronger ties to their ethnic communities while negatively affecting their identification with the nation. While this suggests an example of failed citizenship, participants are using social media to engage in acts of transformative citizenship, solidarity, and activism to counter common narratives within the immigration debate and increase the visibility of the Central American community.