Social Media Use, Socialization, and Perceptions of Syrians among Turkish Youth: Findings from a National Survey

Year 2022, , 1 - 16, 16.01.2023

Zubeyir Nişancı , Aslıhan Nişancı

https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2021-1052797

Abstract

Young people’s attitudes towards Syrians will play a decisive role in Turkish society’s future as a significant proportion of the population consists of Syrians today. As of June 2022, there are approximately 3,7 million Syrians in Turkiye. The literature shows that social media and socialization are important factors affecting individuals’ attitudes towards immigrants. This article explores how (1) the amount of time spent on social media, and (2) self-reported adequate socialization in daily life affect perception toward Syrian immigrants among young adults in Turkiye. We used data from the Turkish Youth Survey (TYS), which was conducted in 2018 by interviewing 7,949 individuals between the ages of 18 and 30. We measured anti-immigrant perception by using answers given to the question of whether the study participants would live in the same neighborhood as Syrians. The findings indicate that young adults become less open to the idea of living with the Syrian immigrants in the neighborhood as they spend more time on social media. We also find that those who say they are adequately socializing in their daily lives are less likely to say they do not want to live in the same neighborhood as Syrian immigrants.

Keywords

Social media use, socialization, anti-immigrant attitudes, Syrians in Turkiye, youth

References

• Afyonoğlu, M. F., & Buz, S. (2021). Sosyal Hizmet Bölümü Öğrencilerinin Suriyelilere Yönelik Tutumu: Türkiye’nin Yedi Bölgesinde Yedi İl Örneklemi. 22. google scholar
• Ahmed, S., Chen, V. H. H., & Chib, A. I. (2021). Xenophobia in the Time of a Pandemic: Social Media Use, Stereotypes, and Prejudice against Immigrants during the COVID-19 Crisis. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 33(3), 637–653. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edab014 google scholar
• Ahmed, S., Chen, V. H. H., Jaidka, K., Hooi, R., & Chib, A. (2021). Social media use and anti-immigrant attitudes: Evidence from a survey and automated linguistic analysis of Facebook posts. Asian Journal of Communication, 31(4), 276–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2021.1929358 google scholar
• Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Addison-Wesley. google scholar
• Al Ramiah, A., & Hewstone, M. (2013). Intergroup contact as a tool for reducing, resolving, and preventing intergroup conflict: Evidence, limitations, and potential. The American Psychologist, 68(7), 527–542. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032603 google scholar
• Ankaralı, H., Pasin, Ö., Karacan, B., Tokar, M., Künüroğlu, M., Çaça, M., Özislam, M. E., Şahingöz, N. B. (2017). Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Türkiye’deki Suriyeli Sığınmacılara Bakış Açısı. Journal of Duzce University Health Sciences Institute, 7(3), 122–132. google scholar
• Baş, H., & Eti, S. (n.d.). Sosyal Hizmet Öğrencilerinin Sığınmacılara İlişkin Algı ve Tutumları: Bir Vakıf Üniversitesi Örneği. 24. google scholar
• Bayram Özdemir, S., Sun, S., Korol, L., Özdemir, M., & Stattin, H. (2018). Adolescents’ Engagement in Ethnic Harassment: Prejudiced Beliefs in Social Networks and Classroom Ethnic Diversity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(6), 1151–1163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0795-0 google scholar
• Binder, J., Zagefka, H., Brown, R., Funke, F., Kessler, T., Mummendey, A., Maquil, A., Demoulin, S., Leyens, J. P. (2009). Does contact reduce prejudice or does prejudice reduce contact? A longitudinal test of the contact hypothesis among majority and minority groups in three European countries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(4), 843-56. Doi: 10.1037/a0013470. google scholar
• Bozdağ, Ç. (2019). Bottom-up nationalism and discrimination on social media: An analysis of the google scholar
• citizenship debate about refugees in Turkey, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(5), 1–19. google scholar
• https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549419869354 google scholar
• Bursztyn, L., Egorov, G., Enikolopov, R., & Petrova, M. (2019). Social Media and Xenophobia: Evidence from Russia (Working Paper No. 26567; Working Paper Series). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w26567 google scholar
• Costello, M., Restifo, S. J., & Hawdon, J. (2021). Viewing anti-immigrant hate online: An application of routine activity and Social Structure-Social Learning Theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 124, 106927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106927 google scholar
• Çapa, Mesut (1990), “Yunanistan’dan Gelen Göçmenlerin İskanı”, Atatürk Yolu, 5, 49–69. google scholar
• Danış, D., Parla, J. (2009). Nafile soydaşlık: Irak ve Bulgaristan Türkleri örneğinde göçmen, dernek ve devlet. Toplum ve Bilim, 114, 131–158. google scholar
• De Coninck, D., Rodríguez-de-Dios, I., & d’Haenens, L. (2021). The contact hypothesis during the European refugee crisis: Relating quality and quantity of (in)direct intergroup contact to attitudes towards refugees. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(6), 881–901. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430220929394 google scholar
• Ekman, M. (2020). Anti-Immigrant Sentiments and Mobilization on the Internet. In K. Smets, K. Leurs, M. Georgiou, S. Witteborn, & R. Gajjala, The SAGE Handbook of Media and Migration (pp. 551–562). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526476982.n52 google scholar
• Ekman, M. (2018). Anti-refugee Mobilization in Social Media: The Case of Soldiers of Odin. Social Media + Society, 4(1), 205630511876443. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118764431 google scholar
• Erdoğan, M. (2019). Suriyeliler barometresi 2019 [Syrians barometer 2019]. Ankara: Orion Kitabevi. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/09/SB2019-TR-04092020.pdf (Accessed on 28 May 2022). google scholar
• Titzman, P. F., Brenick, A. & Silbereisen, R. K. (2015). Friendships fighting prejudice: a longitudinal perspective on adolescents’ cross-group friendships with immigrants. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(6):1318-31. Doi: 10.1007/s10964-015-0256-6 google scholar
• Gálvez, J. Á., Pérez, J. A. S., Cousinou, G. M., Azkona, E. M., & Domínguez, I. A. (2020). Attitudes towards immigration at the regional level in Europe in times of crisis. Revista de Fomento Social, 297–325. google scholar
• Gimpel, J. G., & Lay, J. C. (2008). Political Socialization and Reactions to Immigration-Related Diversity in Rural America. Rural Sociology, 73(2), 180–204. https://doi.org/10.1526/003601108784514561 google scholar
• Hainmueller, J., & Hopkins, D. J. (2014). Public attitudes toward immigration. Annual Review of Political Science, 17, 225–249. google scholar
• Hof, S. D. V. H., Bakir, Z. N., & Bi̇rol, M. (2018). Geri Çekildi: Medya Etkileri Üzerine Deneysel Bir Çalışma: Suriyeli Sığınmacılar. İletişim Çalışmaları Dergisi, 4(2), 49–78. google scholar
• İşçi, D., Uludağ, E. (2019). Sosyal Medyada Suriyeliler Algısı: Youtube Sokak Röportajları Üzerine Bir İnceleme. Ulisa: Uluslararası Çalışmalar Dergisi, 3(1), 1–24. google scholar
• Kabakli Çi̇Men, L., &mi Ersoy Quadi̇R, S. (2018). Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Suriyeli Sığınmacılarla İlgili Tutumlarının Sivil Katılımları Bağlamında İncelenmesi. İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7(2), 1251–1273. https://doi.org/10.15869/itobiad.382502 google scholar
• Kardeş, S., Banko, Ç, Akman, B. (2017). Sosyal medyada Suriye’li sığınmacılara yönelik algı: bir sözlük değerlendirmesi. Göç Dergisi, 2, 185-200. google scholar
• Keating, A., Janmaat, J. G. (2020). Immigrants, inclusion, and the role of hard work: Exploring anti-immigrant attitudes among young people in Britain. The Sociological Review, 68(6), 1212–28. google scholar
• Kirisci, K. (2003). Turkey: A transformation from emigration to immigration. Migration Policy Institute. Available via https://www.turkheritage.org/en/publications/factsheets/issue-briefs/refugee-flows-through-turkey-1980-to-2017-4421 [Accessed on 3 June 2022]. google scholar
• Kreis, R. (2017). #refugeesnotwelcome: Anti-refugee discourse on Twitter. Discourse & Communication, 11(5), 498–514. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481317714121 google scholar
• Küçük, O., Kocak, M. C. (2020). İnternet ve Sosyal Medya Haberlerinde Ötekinin (Suriyeli Sığınmacılar) Konumlandırılışı: Konya Örneği. Journal of Humanities and Tourism Research 10(2), 275–288. google scholar
• Lazaridis, G., Campani, G., Benveniste, A. (2016). The Rise of the Far Right in Europe: google scholar
• Populist Shifts and ‘Othering’. Palgrave Macmillan London https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55679-0 google scholar
• Lundberg, E., & Abdelzadeh, A. (2021). Time matters: Civic engagement and the development of anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents. Acta Politica. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-021-00211-w google scholar
• Mierina, I, Koroleva, I. (2015). Support for far rights ideology and anti-immigrant attitudes among youth in Europe: A comparative analysis. The Sociological Review, 63(S2), 183–205. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12268 google scholar
• Miklikowska, M. (2017). Development of anti-immigrant attitudes in adolescence: The role of parents, peers, intergroup friendships, and empathy. British Journal of Psychology, 108(3), 626–648. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12236 google scholar
• Miklikowska, M. (2017). Empathy trumps prejudice: The longitudinal relation between empathy and anti-immigrant attitudes in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 54(4), 703. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000474 google scholar
• Ministry Interior of Turkey (2022). Temporary Protection. Available at https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638 [Accessed on 2 June 2022]. google scholar
• Ozaydin, T., Kocoglu Tanyer, D., & Akin, B. (2021). Promoting the attitudes of nursing students towards refugees via interventions based on the contact hypothesis: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 84, 191–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.07.013 google scholar
• Özdemir, F., Öner-Özkan, B. (2016). Türkiye’de Sosyal Medya Kullanıcılarının Suriyeli Mültecilere İlişkin Sosyal Temsilleri. Nesne Psikoloji Dergisi (NPD), 4(8), 227–244. DOI: 10.7816/nesne-04-08-04 google scholar
• Özerim, M. G., Tolay, J. (2021). Discussing the Populist Features of Anti-refugee Discourses on Social Media: An Anti-Syrian Hashtag in Turkish Twitter. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(1), 204–218, https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa022 google scholar
• Perrineau, P. (2002). The Rise of the Far Right in Europe. Études, 397(12), 605–613. google scholar
• Pettigrev, T. F., Tropp, L. R. (2006). A Meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Pers. Soc. Psychol., 90(5), 751–83. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751 google scholar
• Rettgerg, J. W., Gajjala, R. (2021). Terrorists or cowards: Negative portrayals of male Syrian refugees in social media. Feminist Media Studies, 16(1), 178–181. google scholar
• Rogers, L. O., Niva, E. Y., Way, N. (2017). The friendships of racial-ethnic minority youth in context. In Handbook on Positive Development of Minority Children and Youth. Springer Publishings. google scholar
• Schwartz, S. J., Meca, A., Ángel Cano, M., Lorenzo-Blanco, E. I., & Unger, J. B. (2018). Identity Development in Immigrant Youth. European Psychologist, 23(4), 336–349. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000335 google scholar
• Sirin, S. R., Sin, E., Clingain, C., & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2019). Acculturative Stress and Mental Health: Implications for Immigrant-Origin Youth. Pediatric Clinics, 66(3), 641–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2019.02.010 google scholar
• Smets, K., Leurs, K., Georgiou, M., Witteborn, S., & Gajjala, R. (2019). The SAGE Handbook of Media and Migration. SAGE. google scholar
• Strabac, Z. (2011). It Is the Eyes and Not the Size That Matter. European Societies, 13(4), 559–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2010.550631 google scholar
• Şen, G., Keskin, H. Ş. (2019). Türkiye’deki Kamu Yönetimi Öğrencilerinin Suriyeli Sığınmacılara İlişkin Tutumları. Manas Journal of Social Studies, 8(2), 1958-1974. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33206/mjss.459684 google scholar
• Toprak, M. (2018). Sosyal medyada Suriyeli sığınmacılara yönelik nefret söylemi: Twitter örneği. http://abakus.inonu.edu.tr/xmlui/handle/11616/11332 google scholar
• Tsai, J.-Y., Phua, J., Pan, S., & Yang, C. (2020a). Intergroup Contact, COVID-19 News Consumption, and the Moderating Role of Digital Media Trust on Prejudice Toward Asians in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e22767. https://doi.org/10.2196/22767 google scholar
• UNHCR (2017). Law on Foreigners and International Protection. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/tr/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2017/04/LoFIP_ENG_DGMM_revised-2017.pdf [Accessed on 2 June 2022]. google scholar
• Van Zalk, M. H. W., Kerr, M., Kerr, M., van Zalk, N., & Stattin, H. (2013). Xenophobia and tolerance toward immigrants in adolescence: Cross-influence processes within friendships. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(4), 627–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9694-8 google scholar
• Yaşa, H., Öksüz, O. (2020) Tez Özeti.: Nefret söyleminin inşasında sosyal medyanın rolü: Ekşi sözlük örneği. Erciyes İletişim Dergisi, 7(2), 1383–1408. google scholar
• Yıldırım, S., & Tekdemir Yurtdaş, G. (2015). Social Construction of Syrian Refugees in Daily Speech in Turkey: Interpretative Repertoires and Social Media. Middle East Journal of Refugee Studies, 1(1), 77–122. https://doi.org/10.12738/mejrs.2016.1.1.0004 google scholar