UC Riverside

Traditionally, the study on the use of Spanish on Latinx individuals has focused on physical environments. However, that physical reality has now jumped into a virtual one, where the engagement process has been accelerated by the use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Nowadays, current use of the language extends beyond the realm of physical borders -the house, the neighborhood, the school, the city- and transforms itself on another way of self-expression and self-representation on SNSs. The question, then, is how this new reality is affecting and being affected by language and its users?

With that in mind, this dissertation examines how the use of Spanish on SNSs impact and influences numerous aspects of social media engagement such as identity construction, the role of Spanish on SNSs and Latinx linguistic self-esteem (LSE) users and the potential relationship between virtual aggressions on social media platforms and the use of Spanish. In order to examine these themes, 48 participants have taken part in a questionnaire and 9 in a follow-up interview that have been later analyzed following a mixed-method approach.

The findings from this study showcase how Latinx users choose to use Spanish on SNSs and what implications this has for the production of cultural identity/ies. From this work, we observe that the use of Spanish on SNSs is a form of identity/ies performance and cultural reaffirmation, where users display their Spanish to signal their cultural capital and belongingness to the Latinx community/ies. Moreover, while participants have expressed a sense of pride when using Spanish on SNSs, there is an influence on their LSE, as the potential criticism and comments towards their Spanish, might increase the influence that SNSs play on the use of Spanish and the other way around. Furthermore, the use of Spanish on SNSs might amplify the possibilities of being a target of virtual hate speech and virtual aggressions. Participants understand that the use of Spanish and their identity/ies might make them experience virtual negative situations that have on many occasions the form of subtle comments and criticisms.