SOCIAL MEDIA AS TOOLS FOR SOCIAL AND CULTURAL INTEGRATION OF NIGERIAN MIGRANTS IN SWEDEN

Abstract: Purpose: This research aims to examine how new Nigerian migrants in Sweden respond to social and cultural challenges and investigate the role of social media in their integration process. Theory: Social Capital Theory forms the framework that supports this study. This theory is applied to this study because of its link to social and cultural integration and the formation of social networks. In other words, the social capital theory suits this research because of its nature as a concept that describes the interconnectivity and employment of social resources in establishing cross-personal relations that are required for effective social inclusion and social and cultural integration of migrants, as well as individual and organizational development. Such ties exist in the new technology-dependent world, often facilitated through social media connectivity. Method: Qualitative research, using interviews, was applied to collect data about how new Nigerian migrants in Sweden respond to social and cultural challenges and investigate the role of social media in Nigerian migrants’ integration processes. The transcribed data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Results show that in responding to the culture shock upon their arrival in Sweden, Nigerian migrants resort to forming alliances, which manifest in the form of creating social networks through social media to improve bonding and bridging cultures. Nigerian migrants employ social media and MALL apps for language learning to expedite their social and cultural integration processes. Results show that social and cultural learning is a continuous process and that although bonding capital seems effective for Nigerian migrants in Sweden given the commonalities in their historical identities, bridging social capital is pertinent in the process of full integration. Results also show that digitally literate Nigerian migrants leverage social media and other technologies during their social and cultural integration process, which in turn helps them improve their digital literacy skills. Finally, results show that, as the most prominent form of communication technology, social media is one of the strongest binding forces between Nigerian migrants and the rest of Swedish society, as well as between them and their families and friends back home.