Translating the nation through the sustainable, liveable city: The role of social media intermediaries in immigrant integration in Copenhagen

Abstract

This article explores settled Western migrants whose digital content provides recent, mostly Western migrants in Copenhagen with local know-how and city-related information. This new type of informal integration intermediary functions as an emerging digital component of wider urban integration industries that assist migrants with settlement and social integration. We draw on the sociological theory of translation as a social, productive practice that constructs new meanings through selective interpretations and conceptualise the work of these bloggers as translation. Relying on the analysis of their blog and Instagram posts, and on interviews, this article shows how their translations of the city, and through it Danishness, play a critical role in mediating narratives of ‘becoming local’. Despite the differences between the bloggers’ respective translations (including those afforded through blogs vs Instagram) and despite criticism of a lack of inclusion of the socio-cultural differences in Denmark, these intermediaries ultimately reinforce for newcomers the expectations of the ‘green-city citizen’ and integration into Danish culture and lifestyle. We argue that what makes their translations resonate is not only that social media itself allows them to perform their having become (almost) local, but also that they carefully use their personal reflections as migrants. At the same time, the fact that their personal experiences of the city have been shaped by their positionality as white migrants feeling very welcomed, and even passing for locals, in the city curtails these bloggers’ wider potential as informal intermediaries filling a gap within Copenhagen’s urban integration industries.

The impact of mobile social media use on the integration of immigrants -- With empirical evidence from China

“…thus helping them to better adapt to the cultural environment of the host country [7]. Through interpersonal communication and participation in social activities through social media, they can obtain high-quality communication across regions and cultures, which effectively reduces the pressure of cultural adaptation in the host country and helps them to obtain more entertainment and a sense of belonging to the group [8].On the other hand, some scholars have suggested that the use of social media has a negative impact on the individual's cross-cultural adaptation and that the use of social media for cross-cultural adaptation of migrants will enhance their understanding of the cultural environment of the host country [9]. Cross-cultural adaptation of migrants through social media use will increase their dependence on social media, which in the long run will weaken their interpersonal skills in reality, and will not be conducive to a better adaptation to the new social environment.…”

Making cities through migration industries: Introduction to the special issue

“…Finally, Fogelman and Christensen (2022) analyse two migrants’ blogs and Instagram accounts about Copenhagen as an emerging digital component of wider integration industries. The content these informal integration intermediaries produce translates their urban know-how to newcomers, while also showcasing their having become (almost) local.…”