WeChat and the Negotiation of Hybrid Identity Among Second-Generation Chinese Immigrants

Abstract Second-generation Chinese immigrants in North America, often referred to as American-born Chinese (ABCs), frequently navigate complex questions of identity. WeChat, a ubiquitous digital platform, can mediate these cultural negotiations and enable ABCs to construct resilient hybrid identities. Drawing on the frameworks of multiple modernities, digital diaspora, and hybrid identity, this article examines how WeChat can mediate hybrid identity negotiation among many ABCs by supporting relational obligations, familial duties, and emerging forms of economic autonomy through culturally situated digital practices. These digital interactions can foster belonging, reinforce ethnic identity, and promote resilience, suggesting that modernity is not a linear or assimilative process but a dynamic, contextually mediated negotiation. Digital technologies like WeChat are more than communication tools. They are active cultural mediators that can help ABCs sustain heritage, navigate multiple modernities, and cultivate hybrid identities within a transnational context.