Immigration and Social Media

Something that draws my attention on the immigration process is the role that social media plays on it. There are two aspects of it that I would like to discuss. First is connection. Second is information. Let’s consider some points to start our conversation.

Connection is the main purpose of social media, right? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, we know them all and the list goes on.  What a wonderful way to connect with friends and acquaintances, even with those people who we haven’t seen for long time (and probably we wont see them for a while). It’s a way to get along with each other’s lives and know what is going on. On social media we share pictures, ideas, decisions, comments, and political positions. We share what makes us happy, what makes us proud or sad, we share what we are up to. Through social media, we, immigrants can feel a little closer to families and friends. And that is very important to us.

We also can connect with people who we don’t know in person. Either by belonging to a mutual group on social media or simply by having friends in common, we can make new “friends” very easily. Social media bring people together from all over the world without geographic barriers. Amazing! I’ve seen posts with different languages on it. Almost surreal that people can gather together on a virtual place as social media. And that brings me to the second point of this discussion: information.

Social Media as a source of information?

Many immigrants-to-be are connecting with new-comers-to-Canada through social media. I am talking about Canada because that’s my experience. However I would say that the same occurs in many other countries. Great friendships start that way. Specific groups are created to gather people around the same idea. That allows the group members’ to share information with each other, to ask questions, and to exchange points of views. I guarantee that it facilitates a lot to people who are starting their immigration processes. Immigrate requires a lot of research, tons of it! Sometimes we feel lost with so many rules, procedures, and forms. Being able to hear from someone else’s experience is relieving, encouraging, and even helpful.

However, I would say that many people out there are using social media as the main source of their research. And that concerns me a little. Based on the fact that immigration is a law, I wouldn’t rely on social media as source of information. People make mistakes; sometimes people are passionate and share experiences that will be exclusive to them. I would certainly rely on social media as a way to share experiences and feelings, but always being aware that each person is different from another. Experiences can be perceived differently according to one’s previous understandings and mainly, one’s expectations. I would definitely search information on countries’ official websites as Canada and USA for example. If you see good information on social media, do not hesitate to check it out on the proper source.

It is your big move! Give it the appropriate importance and be accurate on your research. I am sure you wont regret it!

See you next time!