Reclaiming agency in the digital neighborhood: an
ethnographic exploration of ethno-religious minority
youths’ performances of the masculine self
Dublin Core
Title
Reclaiming agency in the digital neighborhood: an
ethnographic exploration of ethno-religious minority
youths’ performances of the masculine self
ethnographic exploration of ethno-religious minority
youths’ performances of the masculine self
Subject
affordances, masculinity, self-presentation, social media, youth
Description
Self-presentation has been identified as a key practice within digital youth cultures. The scholarship on youths’ self-presentation has extensively
investigated how young people negotiate affordances in ways that optimally support their transitions into adulthood. However, the scholarship’s
focus on identity development and technological affordances risks constructing a homogeneous, de-contextualized, and media-centric represen-
tation of digital youth cultures. To unveil how self-presentation practices are embedded within a broader socio-cultural context, I conducted a
15-month hybrid ethnographic study with 23 ethno-religious minority young men living in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The
observations illustrate that these young men attempt to reclaim agency over their identity representations by performing “masculine ideals” of
the self in response to racialized discourses. Overall, the results underscore the necessity of adopting an intersectional perspective that considers
the interplay between self-presentation on social media and the threats and opportunities within youths’ (digital) neighborhoods.
investigated how young people negotiate affordances in ways that optimally support their transitions into adulthood. However, the scholarship’s
focus on identity development and technological affordances risks constructing a homogeneous, de-contextualized, and media-centric represen-
tation of digital youth cultures. To unveil how self-presentation practices are embedded within a broader socio-cultural context, I conducted a
15-month hybrid ethnographic study with 23 ethno-religious minority young men living in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The
observations illustrate that these young men attempt to reclaim agency over their identity representations by performing “masculine ideals” of
the self in response to racialized discourses. Overall, the results underscore the necessity of adopting an intersectional perspective that considers
the interplay between self-presentation on social media and the threats and opportunities within youths’ (digital) neighborhoods.
Creator
Tom De Leyn
Source
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad037
Date
31 August 2023
Contributor
PERI IRAWAN
Format
PDF
Language
ENGLISH
Type
TEXT
Files
Collection
Citation
Tom De Leyn, “Reclaiming agency in the digital neighborhood: an
ethnographic exploration of ethno-religious minority
youths’ performances of the masculine self,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed October 31, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/8751.
ethnographic exploration of ethno-religious minority
youths’ performances of the masculine self,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed October 31, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/8751.