Stefan Nikolic
Post 3 of 5
In her study “(Un)documented immigrant media makers and the search for connection online” by Sarah C. Bishop goes into depth on what it’s like to be a young undocumented immigrant in the United States of America. She interviews 25 undocumented immigrants living in New York City that moved here before the age of 20. She argues on how digital media makes it easier for undocumented immigrants to come out and share their hardships.
Often times the media attacks undocumented immigrants and vilifies them. Most immigrants are seen to be lazy, job stealing leeches that feed off the benefits of government funded institutions. They dehumanize these people and turn society against them. Bishop’s study aims to show how these people are creating a new image for themselves on social media platforms. These new media platforms allow for a new breed of consumers and creators, termed “prosumers.” This allows a new community to form, allowing people to create and produce new content very easily. Many young undocumented immigrants use this platform as a way to reestablish themselves. Prior to this the media was the sole representation of undocumented immigrants in America, and they painted a bad picture of them. This new media gave undocumented immigrants something else they could use to their advantage, anonymity. This allows undocumented immigrants to feel safe about sharing their story and allowed them to become more vocal about what they’ve been through. Without this anonymity provided by the internet, people were too scared to share their stories. For example, Pang, an undocumented immigrant says how, “[I wanted] to share my own experiences, but I couldn’t” (Bishop, 5). Like many immigrants, she was unable to share her experiences due to the fear of being outed. However, more and more immigrants are now more willing to share their experiences thanks to this new form of media.
The public media also had a serious impact on how undocumented immigrants viewed themselves. The media’s incorrect portrayal of these people made them less likely to open up about their situation. One immigrant that was interviewed, states that “[Being an illegal immigrant] felt like it was something so dirty and wrong. The way that it had been portrayed in the media, I felt like I was criminal.” This shows how not only did the fear of being deported prevent people from coming out, but being ashamed of where they came from also kept them silent. While it may seem that the internet erases these problems by allowing people to post content anonymously, it also offers a drawback. These immigrants aren’t the only ones who can post anonymously, which leads to people being able to post hateful comments and remarks that they wouldn’t say in person. This hinders the immigrants’ ability to express themselves, and often times scares people away from posting their story. While strides are being made to clear the image of illegal immigrants there is still so much more that needs to be done to remove the negative stigma that clouds people’s perception of them.
Questions:
- Why do media sources often time paint illegal immigrants in a negative light?
- What benefits come with sharing their experiences through the more conventional media, as opposed to the internet?
