Digital trajectories of acculturation: social media practices among a sample of African female domestic workers

Abstract

Globalization and cross-cultural migration have intensified the movement of individuals across national and cultural boundaries, particularly among migrants employed in feminized labor sectors. Within these contexts, acculturation is shaped not only by face-to-face interactions but also by engagement with digital media. This study examines how and why African female domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use social media and how these practices shape their acculturation experiences. Using a qualitative research design, the study draws on in-depth interviews with African female domestic workers from Ethiopia, Uganda, and Nigeria. The data were analyzed using thematic and narrative analysis to identify recurring patterns while preserving participants’ individual lived experiences. Findings indicate that social media serves multiple functions in participants’ acculturation processes. It enables them to sustain transnational family connections, learn about host-country cultural norms and workplace expectations, access emotional and spiritual support, and maintain religious identities and collective cultural values. At the same time, participants’ selective and cautious engagement with digital platforms reflects tensions within these practices, as social media can facilitate connection and cultural adaptation while also contributing to digital stress. Overall, the findings position social media as a multidimensional mediating space through which migrant domestic workers negotiate cultural learning, belonging, identity, and transnational relationships. The study contributes to migration and digital media scholarship by demonstrating that social media can simultaneously facilitate and complicate acculturation among an understudied population of African female domestic workers in the UAE.