Struggling in im/mobility: lived experience of Macao’s mainland Chinese migrant laborers via WeChat Moments during COVID-19
Communication, Culture and Critique
; 2022.
Article
in English
| Web of Science | ID: covidwho-1908767
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) has led to drastic changes in social life. Focusing on a group of essential workers, this study examines how mainland Chinese low-skilled labor migrants discursively manifest their everyday lives via WeChat Moments. From analyzing social media posts and interview data, this study demonstrates that these labor migrants' stay in Macao was a period of unsought and undesired time of waiting, impacted by socio-structural constraints of class, age, gender, and outsider identity. Participants experienced positive (happiness with newfound opportunities) and negative emotions (anxiety and entrapment) during forced immobility due to border closures. This study contributes to understandings of border-crossing as interpreted and experienced via social media discourse.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
Web of Science
Language:
English
Journal:
Communication, Culture and Critique
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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