The study examines the media habits of members of the Syrian diaspora residing in Stockholm, Sweden, in order to follow up on the conflict and maintain a connection to the homeland. As a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, thousands of citizens are forced to leave Syria and settle down abroad every day. At the same time, mainstream media outlets are given limited insight into Syria, the government maintains control over published news content, and a lot of online content is being censored. This raises questions regarding if, and how, Syrian immigrants outside the nations borders are communicating with potential friends and family left behind; how they are keeping uptodate with developments of the conflict, and where they are able to find reliable information. Previous studies on the subject of media use among diasporic communities have not taken into account how the Syrian Civil War has affected the media use by members of the Syrian diaspora. Therefore, the study acts to fill a void in diaspora research that specifically considers a homeland in turmoil. Through eleven oneonone interviews, the study examines what traditional as well as new media channels are used by members of the Syrian diaspora in Sweden, and how this affects their conception of the homeland and the nation of residence. Interview respondents are all firstgeneration immigrants of varied genders and age groups, in order to identify patterns of media consumption among this group. Specifically, data analysis conducted through a constant comparative method of interview transcripts examines foreign and local news and broadcast media consumption, as well as Internet use. The analysis focuses on identifying phenomenological similarities and differences in the perceptions and motivations of respondents. Findings from the conducted interviews consider differences in how different genders and age groups use specific media channels in order to follow up the ongoing conflict in Syria, and how these media affect the respondents’ understanding of Syria. Finally, the study also considers how these media channels are used by members of the Syrian diaspora in the process of acculturation and integration into the Swedish community.

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Al-Rawi, Ahmed
hdl.handle.net/2105/17742
Media, Culture & Society
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication

Timmermans, Michelle. (2014, July 24). Media Use By The Syrian Community in Sweden. Media, Culture & Society. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/17742