Digital Escapes? ICTs, Settlement and Belonging among Karen Youth in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

What does it mean to become ‘at home’ in a settlement context while at the same time remaining connected to global networks? And what does this tell us about how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are transforming the experiences and opportunities of young people in a settlement context? These are some of the key questions underpinning Home Lands, a digital media project that explored the proposition that, if resettled refugee young people are able to maintain their connections to family and friends around the world, then this might enhance their sense of being at home in Melbourne. Analysing films and photographs produced during the programme by Karen Burmese youth, we describe three articulations of belonging that we have called settlement ‘escapes’. We demonstrate how ICTs can open up new possibilities for becoming at home in a new country and as a citizen of a more global, deterritorialized world. Our research demonstrates that settlement in a networked world is fundamentally tied to the resources and opportunities afforded to youth in making a life in their new country both on-line and off-line.