Negotiating Identities in the Digital Diaspora - The Role of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) Platforms amongst South African ESL Teachers in China

This study explores how South African ESL teachers in China negotiate their identities through computer-mediated communication (CMC) platforms, primarily WeChat and YouTube. Situated within the discourse of South-South migration and the digital diaspora, the research examines how these migrants navigate the tension between a marginalised physical reality (Node A) and an empowered digital existence (Node B). Employing a qualitative research design, the study triangulates data from WeChat group interactions, YouTube vlogs, and semi-structured interviews. WeChat data reveals the 'backstage' dynamics of communal support and intra-group policing, while YouTube content illustrates the 'frontstage' performance of professional identity. Complementing these, in-depth interviews capture the lived experiences of structural precarity that necessitate this digital engagement. The findings uncover a critical digital pivot where teachers retreat from racialised surveillance to create a "Shadow institution" within the digital sphere. The analysis is anchored by a Comprehensive Integrative Theoretical Framework that synthesises Intersectionality and Bourdieu’s Habitus to conceptualise structural constraints, alongside Social Identity Theory and Affect Theory to conceptualise digital agency. This framework demonstrates that identity negotiation serves as a vital survival mechanism, allowing teachers to navigate the "Cleft Habitus" of being a racialised professional in China. This research contributes to sociolinguistics and migration studies by offering a novel model of transnational digital resilience. It illustrates that digital platforms function as essential infrastructure for countering structural exclusion, enabling the formation of an enduring, virtual, affective community.