Bruk av Facebook blant karenfolk : et kvalitativt studie av sosiale medier i en flyktningleir

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of Facebook among a young group of students at a Bible school in a refugee camp called Mae La Refugee Camp. The students are Karen people, an ethnic minority who mainly live in Burma and Thailand. There is relatively little research on the use of social media among this specific group. In addition, the situation around the students are currently changing fast because of political changes in both Thailand and Myanmar, but also on the basic of increased access to modern communications technology in previously isolated refugee camps like the Mae La Refugee Camp. The paper is based on a qualitative, ethnographic method, and I have completed a three-week fieldwork in Mae La refugee camp. The data the paper is built on is obtained from informal conversations with students, a group conversation with students and participant observation of various activities at the Bible school. The research findings show that there are mentioned many aspects of how Facebook is used among students. It appears that Facebook is primarily used to create and maintain social networks, and that this can have many benefits for students. Ethnopolitical involvement is also an important element of Facebook. The study shows how the rapid development of communication technology can affect a previously relatively isolated group of young people with few economic resources.