Knowledge Construction of Immigrants in the Digital Age A Case Study of Young Turkish Immigrants in Germany

This book studies the role of the media in the construction of political knowledge of young Turkish immigrants within their egocentric networks as a part of their integration process in Germany. A modern approach to media ecology theory is applied in this study to explore young immigrants' media environments. In this book, multiple theoretical perspectives on the debated terms of migration, integration, and political knowledge have been comprehensively examined and presented. A qualitative research method with semi-structured interviews was applied to collect the data for this study. In addition, a qualitative egocentric network approach has been applied to collect data on the egocentric networks of young immigrants. The author presents several key findings that show young immigrants commonly exist in entertainment-oriented, connection-oriented, and information-seeking media environments. Although there are significant changes in the young immigrants' media environments in respect of habitual, platform-based, and practical behavioral changes, the young immigrants' media environments are completely different from their elders. Moreover, technological changes or specific features of digital technologies impact the young immigrants' lifestyles, shaping their media environments.