Paper short abstract:

By framing the research around an analysis of social media interaction from a cross-national perspective, this paper explores how European Hmong use social media to present themselves and to what extent social media has an impact on communication flow and the construction of power and ethnic identity.

Paper long abstract:

Between 1973 and 1975 many Hmong refugees fled to Thailand, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, and other friendly countries because they had assisted the CIA throughout the Vietnam War. A large population of French and German Hmong are active online by organizing Google groups, holding public e-mail groups, and uploading videos of refugee stories to YouTube to allow their unique voice to be heard. By framing the research around an analysis of social media interaction from a cross-national perspective, this paper explores how European Hmong use social media to present themselves and to what extent social media has an impact on communication flow and the construction of power and ethnic identity. Why have they decided to use the Internet to share their stories, ethnic memories, and identity with the rest of the world? This paper concerns online identity and Miao/Hmong identity in particular is interesting as it pertains to its transnational dynamic.