Sosyal medya ve kimlik oluşturma: Türkiye'deki Haitili üniversite öǧrencileri arasında sosyal medya kullanımına yönelik bir analiz

Social media plays such an important role in people's lives that it has become a cultural signifier. Thus, the relationship between the cultural context and the use of social media results in performances that shapes the user's identity. This study explores the use of social media among Haitian university students in Turkey and contributes to the understanding of how social media relates to identity construction. Based on the interpretive paradigm, this paper reconstructs the meaning of the use of social media and its relations to identity construction among 15 Haitian students selected from several universities in Turkey. Hermeneutic and pragmatic analysis of the 15 in-depth interviews shows three paradoxical patterns that emerge from the meaning attributed to the use of social media: 1) communication and remoteness 2) self-affirmation and self-restraint 3) entertainment and boredom. Also, findings from the interviews and the content analysis of an online Haitian students' group show two paradoxical patterns relating the perception of the use of social media to identity construction. In an attempt to assert himself while suiting the cultural context he lives in, the Haitian student in Turkey assets his digital footprint through 1) impression management and 2) network building. Thus, the perception of the use of social media determines the use of it which, consequently, reflects on the user's social and self-identity. Keywords: Social media, Identity construction, Online performance, Network building