Internet Use, Group Identity, and Political Participation among Taiwanese Americans

Using qualitative data collection methods, mainly in-depth interviews, this study investigated the complex, fluid, strategic, and reciprocal relationships between Internet use, group identity, and political participation in a Taiwanese American immigrant context. The research results found that the Internet has surpassed other ways by becoming the first channel the Taiwanese Americans use for gathering and accessing information and cultural materials of Taiwan and has become one of the most important tools to practice their political participation. Moreover, through the cross tabulation analysis, we found that those who use more Taiwanese Internet content showed a higher percentage of identification and cultural preference with Taiwan and were more involved in political participation concerning Taiwanese issues; as to those who use more American web content, they tended to adopt more hybrid or changing identities and had more political participation in American issues. Thus, for those who maintain their Taiwanese identity, the Internet is actually a useful and significant way to sustain their original identity. Moreover, in this research, the influence of the Internet on identification and cultural preference could be generally grouped into three different categories — reinforcing the existing identities, challenging the existing identities, and creating new or hybrid identities. As to how the Internet influences identity construction, the most frequent reasons (in order) include increasing social networking with people in hometowns, changing people’s thoughts and feelings about their existing identities, offering material for sources of identity construction, and reinforcing immigrants’ identities by strengthening their identifiers of themselves. We also found that the Internet might realize the possibility for immigrants/the minority to pursue their communication rights by offering them more accesses and channels to communicate (with both the original countries and host societies), to participate in politics, and to choose to be closer to the identity or culture they prefer. This helps immigrants and our society to pursue more “social integration” but not “social assimilation” cultural goals because it supports the existence, pursuit, and encouragement of different cultures, different cultural identities, and different cultural preferences, leading to cultural diversity and democracy in today’s world.