Original Article
The Role of Social Media in
Creating Intercultural Dialogue
and Overcoming Prejudice – a
Comparative Analysis of Pilot
Survey Results
KOME − An International Journal of Pure
Communication Inquiry
Volume 2 Issue 2 p. 37-63
© The Author(s) 2014
Reprints and Permission:
kome@komejournal.com
Published by the Hungarian Communication
Studies Association
Grażyna Piechota
Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, Poland
Abstract: Multiculturalism, as a political and social phenomenon, is more and
more often perceived as a challenge in the realm of studying communication
processes. New media make it possible to communicate and build relations in the
global dimension with a simultaneous impact on the development of horizontal
communication, creating groups and communities and active support for different
forms of social participation. In this context a pilot study concerning the role of
new media in overcoming schemata and prejudice of students in two different
cities with different levels of multiculturalism in the local community was carried
out.
Keywords: multiculturalism, social media, stereotypes, prejudice, hate speech,
cultural differences, intercultural communication, comparative research
1. INTRODUCTION
The issue of intercultural communication, problems connected with diversity and prejudice
resulting from contacts between people of different nationality, ethnicity or religion is an
important problem of multicultural Europe to which attention is drawn in various contexts.
The Council of Europe, noticing the problem of prejudice having different sources, started a
social campaign "No Hate Speech Movement”1 in 2013, aimed mainly at eliminating hate
speech on the Internet. Countries that are members of the European Union with its freedom of
movement and residence, have different histories and experiences connected with
multiculturalism. Among EU member states there are still countries whose societies are
ethnically homogenous and where multiculturalism is a new challenge. As Zygmunt Bauman
puts it "With the tested ways of acting being no longer available, we seem to be left without a
good strategy to handle newcomers." (Bauman 2006: 131) At the same time Charles Tilly
1 Campaign website: http://nohate.ext.coe.int/The-Campaign [accessed 24.06.2014.]
Address for Correspondence: Grażyna Piechota, email: gpiechota@poczta.onet.pl
Article received on the 06th Oct, 2014. Article accepted on the 10th Dec, 2014.
Conflict of Interest: Research was carried out with the financial support of Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow
University. Trip to Berlin was financed as part of a study visit to Protestant University of Applied Sciences in
Berlin that cooperates with Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University. The author declares no other
conflict of interest.
38
emphasises that one of the challenges of the contemporary world is preventing preservation
of categorical inequalities that concern systemic differences in the access to benefits due to
e.g. different nationality, race, ethnic origin or religion. (Tilly 2008: 138)
Multiculturalism is also starting to be perceived on more levels. From the traditional systemic
understanding of multiculturalism as a structure created by people of different nationalities,
cultures, ethnicity and religion that inhabit a given territory to perceiving family as a new
scope of research in this respect. In families there are no borders of homogeneity of
nationalities, cultures or religions of partners. According to Urlich Beck and Elisabeth BeckGernsheim, in Germany about twenty per cent of relationships are between partners of
different nationality, ethnicity, religion or skin colour (in Berlin it is currently even over 20
per cent of relationships) (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim 2013). Often people with a different
ethnic or cultural identity live in another country, which is not the country of origin of either
of the partners. This sets another area for analyses of multiculturalism. At the same time, as
Urlich Beck already noted, multiculturalism is also space for identification of new risks,
sources of conflicts and looking for ways to tackle them. Risks resulting from the present can
also be an element integrating people, regardless of their nationality or shared values. (Beck
2002) The risk society is being redefined in the face of constant individualisation, which
means that only the individual becomes the subject of rights and obligations. This means that
"individuals alone must to a greater extent notice, interpret and manage possibilities, threats
and ambiguities in their lives that they formerly used to cope with in their families, local
communities and by relating to a social class or group.” (Beck, Giddens & Lash 2009: 20)
An individual is thus becoming more and more dependent on controlling their own
possibilities, including the risky ones.
Social media plays a very important role in creating new forms of multicultural relations. In a
globalised world they enable people to start relations with others in many different ways.
Olga Guedes Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier define social media as alternative
media that concentrate on the concept of media serving the community – as such they are part
of the civil society. In the context of understanding the community, not only in its spatial
aspect but also in the cultural one – alternative media serve building a community of
meanings, interpenetrations and images. As they claim: "A community is actively built by its
members who in the act of its creation gain their own identity.” (Bailey, Cammaerts &
Carpentier 2008: 12) Urlich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim notice the phenomenon of
using the Internet to connect people from different countries and cultures thus influencing the
creation of multicultural relationships. These relationships thus also come into existence as a
result of taking conscious actions – looking for partners representing a different national
identity and cultural values. The problem of such relations is a challenge for societies that for
many years have been regarded as multicultural. According to Urlich Beck and Edgar Grane,
discarding the either/or logic to the benefit of building integration by cosmopolitisation is a
project that may change the outlook of European countries on changing reality. (Beck &
Grande 2009: 25) However, statements of politicians that determine people's opinions about
multiculturalism become symptomatic – like the famous words of German Chancellor,
Angela Merkel, about the failure of "multikulti" policy, or the words of the British Prime
Minister, David Cameron, about changing the policy towards immigrants and restricting
access to privileges connected with residing in the United Kingdom. To some extent, such
declarations by politicians in countries where multiculturalism has been a fact for many years
questions the pluralist model of state policy, regulating relations between different groups,
each retaining their own identity. 2
2
More about the theoretical model of multiculturalism can be found at P. Boski, Cultural frames for social
behaviour [Kulturowe ramy zachowań społecznych]. (2009: 529)
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
39
The aim of the following study is to analyze the results of a comparative pilot survey
concerning students' attitudes towards people coming from different countries and ethnic
groups. The study was carried out in two cities of different countries, each on a different level
of multiculturalism - Berlin (in Germany) and Krakow (in Poland). Research was conducted
at two Universities: Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and Andrzej Frycz
Modrzewski Krakow University. The research location was selected because Berlin is
currently a multicultural city where many nationalities, ethnic and cultural groups coexist.3
There are almost half a million people from about one hundred and ninety countries in Berlin.
The dominating minorities include people from Turkey, the former Soviet Union, the former
Yugoslavia and Poland. For many years, German social policy has been actively supporting
social integration. On the other hand, Krakow has a long history of being a multicultural
community. Before World War II., almost thirty per cent of the population were people of
Jewish origin. Currently Krakow is becoming more and more multicultural, mainly due to
investments that draw new citizens from abroad as well as students, mainly from Ukraine.
Consequently, it can be concluded that Berlin and Krakow represent a different level of
saturation of the local society with multiculturalism and thus, also a different level of
potential stereotypes and prejudice present in both cities nowadays, without referring to
historical aspects of multiculturalism.
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The aim of the pilot research was to answer the following questions:
1. Do students notice multiculturalism of the environment they function in and if so,
how do they perceive it?
2. What are the sources of their knowledge about multiculturalism and what/who
shapes their attitudes?
3. Do they use social media in communication processes in the area of
multiculturalism and do they treat these media as a source of education?
4. Do students feel threatened by living in a multicultural world? if so, what are the
sources of their anxiety?
The survey was carried out in May and June 2014 in Berlin and Krakow on a group of two
hundred randomly selected students, one hundred in each university4. Students who took part
in the survey in Berlin came mainly from Germany. Besides German nationality a few people
declared other nationality, sometimes mixed: Austrian, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, Spanish,
English, Australian. The age of students who participated in the survey was between 19 and
53, averaging 28 years. In Krakow, the respondents also included a group of students from
Ukraine who study in the Krakow University and reside in Poland. Students who took part in
the survey in Krakow can be divided into two groups - over a half are Polish and just over
twenty per cent are Ukrainians who study with them. One person declared to be of Slovak
nationality. Fourteen people did not declare any nationality. The age of students who
participated in the survey in Krakow was between 17 and 49 years of age, and was 22 on
average. Research was carried out with a quantitative assessment of survey data gathered
through thirty-four, mainly closed-ended questions. The content of the questionnaires used in
3
http://www.berlin.de/lb/intmig/migration/index.pl.html [accessed 24.06.2014.]
In order to make the analysis easier, in the following part of the article names of cities are used instead of the
names of universities when presenting research results.
4
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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the survey was the same, but questionnaires used in the Berlin survey were translated into
German. The study encompassed students of different years of study, in Berlin studying
"social work", in Krakow: "journalism and social communication" and "management".5
3. PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS
Students in Berlin and students in Krakow received 200 questionnaires in total. Each
university received one hundred questionnaires −the former returned all of them while the
latter returned only ninety eight. In some questionnaires students did not answered all the
questions, so, in the presentation of research results the total numbers do not always
correspond to the number of all questionnaires.
The following tables and graphs present answers of students in separate thematic blocks of
the survey. The first group of the presented results concerns the attitude of students in both
cities toward people coming from other nationalities and ethnic groups.
Table 1. Contacts of students with representatives of other nationalities/ethnic groups
No I do not
Do you study with Yes
people coming from
pay
other nationalities /
attention
ethnic groups?
to it
If so, what are these?
Berlin
81
0
19
(Japan, Ghana, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom,
Turkey, Russia, Germany (for students of other
nationalities), France, Mexico, Czech Republic,
Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Lebanon), Africans were
also mentioned
Krakow
92
3
3
(Ukraine, Poland (for students of other
nationalities), Turkey, Russia, Slovakia, the
USA)
Source: Author
According to the above declarations of students, people studying at Krakow University more
often report studying together with students from other countries. Students in Krakow also
pay more attention to those people. The survey also revealed differences in the origin of
students who study in both universities – education in Berlin offers students more diverse
contacts.
5
In Poland education in the field of "social work" takes place as a major within different types of studies and it
is not a separate field of study as in Germany.
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Table 2. Relations of students with representatives of other nationalities/ethnic groups
No I do not
Are there people of Yes
other nationalities
pay
or ethnic groups in
attention
the
group
of
to it
students you have
closer relations with
(e.g.
you
meet
outside
of
the
university)?
If so, which ones?
Berlin
52
24 24
(Romania, Bosnia, United Kingdom, Poland,
Australia, Turkey, Russia, Italy, France, Lebanon,
China, Cameroon, Holland, Georgia, Kurdistan,
Ecuador, Puerto Rico,) Asians, Africans, Buddhists
and Muslims were also mentioned
Krakow
40
53 3
(Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Belarus, Czech
Republic, Ireland)
Source: Author
According to data from survey questionnaires presented above, students in Berlin are more
open to building and keeping relations with students from other countries and ethnic groups
than the ones who study in Poland. Similarly, as in the case of the previous table, students in
Berlin also less often say that they pay attention to students from other nationalities and
ethnic groups around them, what may prove that functioning in a multicultural environment
makes these relations so common that some students do not pay attention to the country of
origin of their fellow students.
Chart 1a. The level of acquaintance with people of other nationalities and ethnic groups - students from Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 1b. The level of acquaintance with people of other nationalities and ethnic groups - students from Krakow
Source: Author
The two above charts also confirm that the students' level of acquaintance with people from
other countries and nationalities around them is different in each city, not only at the
universities. Students in Krakow declare a lower level of acquaintance with people of other
nationalities than their peers from, Berlin but they also more often pay attention to the origins
of people around them.
Chart 2a. Spending time with people from other countries/nationalities – Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 2b. Spending time with people from other countries/nationalities – Krakow
Source: Author
Chart 2b demonstrates an even more marked discrepancy between answers given by students
in Krakow. When asked about spending free time with people of other nationality or country,
it is more common for them to report that they have no relations with such people, while
students in Berlin report that spending time together with people from other
countries/nationalities is common.
Chart 3a. Relationship between keeping relations with people of other nationality/ethnicity and the increase
of one's knowledge about their country and its culture - Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 3b. Relationship between keeping relations with people of other nationality/ethnicity and the increase
of one's knowledge about their country and its culture – Krakow
Source: Author
The two charts above show to what extent, according to students' declarations, keeping
relations or spending time with people of other nationality or ethnicity influences the level of
knowledge about the culture of a given country, region or ethnic group. Students in both
cities declare that their knowledge about culture has increased but this chart presents a higher
level of individualisation of relations of students from Berlin with people coming from other
cultures, because these students more often reported that they were interested in contacts with
people.
Another portion of the survey results presents answers concerning students' attitudes towards
sense of security and sources of fear.
Chart 4a. The level of students' sense of security – Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 4b. The level of students' sense of security – Krakow
Source: Author
The above charts shows that students in both Berlin and Krakow basically do not treat people
from other nationalities or ethnic groups as a threat source, but students from Krakow are
more anxious. On the other hand, students in Berlin reported more often being not interested
in this issue, what may mean that they see some threats but the source of those threats are not
associated with nationality or ethnicity. Also, potential sources of their feeling of being
threatened seem to be interesting. Students from Berlin report that the reason for that is the
fact that another religion (that will become dominant) impose a certain model of living on
them and that people coming from other countries/cultures with a different system of values
will decide about their life in the future. According to students from Berlin, the inflow of new
workers who might take over their jobs is not perceived as a threat. Students from Krakow
share the fears of their peers from Berlin, pointing to the same sources of anxiety but they
also emphasise the feeling of being threatened concerning the possibility of a worker form
another country taking over their jobs.
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 5a. Nationality-motivated and ethnically-motivated violence - Berlin
Source: Author
Chart 5b. Nationality-motivated and ethnically-motivated violence - Krakow
Source: Author
The two graphs presented above show that students studying in Berlin were more often
victims of violence motivated by their nationality, skin colour, religion or views than students
in Krakow. These data are particularly interesting in juxtaposition with previous charts
concerning the sense of security of students in each city. Students in Krakow declare more
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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fears connected with the sense of security, although, at the same time they less often fall
victim to violence connected with nationality, skin colour, practiced religion or declared
views.
Answers about the character of violence the students have fallen victim to, included mostly
public comments and insults, exclusion from the group a student had participated in, and
beating in the case of people from Berlin. Students reported quite rarely about hate speech
towards them on the Internet. On the other hand, students in Krakow answered that it was
aggression and hate speech on the Internet that were the basic source of violence against
them, a few people also said that violence against them consisted in public insults and
negative comments about them.
Juxtaposing details of people who declared that violence was used against them due to their
nationality, skin colour and practiced religion, in the case of students from Berlin these were
Germans (aged 20 to 49, mostly young people aged 22-25), also an Austrian man, people of
Spanish, English, Japanese and Turkish origin (one answer).
On the other hand, among students in Krakow, the victims of violence were Poles (aged 22 to
40) and Ukrainians (aged 19 to 22).
Chart 6a. Violence motivated by nationality/ethnicity around students - Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 6b. Violence motivated by nationality/ethnicity around students - Krakow
Source: Author
Just as in the case of previous charts, there is a marked difference in the experience in the
environment of students from Berlin and Krakow as well. As students from Berlin declared,
violence motivated by nationality, skin colour, religion or presented views happened around
them more often than in the case of declarations of students from Krakow.
Chart 7a. Fears of students connected with people of certain nationalities/ethnic groups – Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 7b. Fears of students connected with people of certain nationalities/ethnic groups - Krakow
Source: Author
The surveyed students from both cities had a similar level of fear of people of a certain ethnic
group or nationality. Both in the case of students from Berlin and Krakow, the most feared
group are people from Muslim countries, although students in Krakow also mentioned people
from the Far East, from Central and Eastern Europe and the inhabitants of Sub-Saharan
Africa.
Chart 8a. Declarations concerning sharing the same space – students in Berlin
Source: Author
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 8b. Declarations concerning sharing the same space – students in Krakow
Source: Author
The above data, just like the ones presented before, show different attitudes of students from
Berlin and Krakow. A vast majority of students is ready to share a flat with a person of
another nationality and ethnicity, whereas students from Krakow gave more negative answers
and also less often said that their decision depends on a given person, i.e. on individualised
choice. This may prove that the level of prejudice and using stereotypes significantly
influences attitudes of students from Krakow.
Chart 9a. Declarations excluding sharing the same space – students in Berlin
Source: Author
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Chart 9b. Declarations excluding sharing the same space – students in Krakow
Source: Author
In the survey, students' answers were verified by putting in questions sounding differently but
concerning the same topic in different places of the questionnaire in order to confirm answers
given by students. Verification confirmed attitudes of students from Berlin but verified
attitudes of students from Krakow, pointing to a higher level of prejudice towards living
together with people belonging to other nationalities, ethnic or religious groups.
Among people the students from Berlin exclude sharing a flat with were religious extremists
and Islam believers. There were more groups of people students from Krakow exclude living
with: Islam believers, Gypsies, Jews, Germans, Ukrainians, Africans. Interestingly, in the
case of the group of students from Krakow, the analysis was also done by extracting answers
obtained from students (Poles and Ukrainians). In the first group there were: Gypsies,
Muslims, Jews, Germans, Ukrainians and Africans. In the other: Muslims, Catholics,
Russians and Poles.
According to the above results, the main source of prejudice are mainly religious differences,
both in the case of students from Berlin and Krakow. Among Poles, research also revealed
individual anti-Semitic attitudes (people who said that they rule out living with a person of
Jewish nationality were aged between 35 and 45).
Another group of the presented research results concern experiences of students from
travelling and staying in countries outside the European Union.
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 10a. Mobility of students – Berlin
Source: Author
Chart 10b. Mobility of students – Krakow
Source: Author
The two above charts present students’ own experiences of travelling to other countries
outside the European Union. It follows from them that students from Berlin have much more
experience connected with travelling outside the EU than students from Krakow.
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Answers concerning the longest period of stay abroad in the case of students from Berlin
include a period of up to two weeks, however, there are also answers pointing up to a period
between one and three months. The most common reasons for travelling were holidays, then
education or vocational apprenticeship, visiting friends or family and finally; working abroad.
On the other hand, among students from Krakow, the period of stay is not longer than two
weeks, less often up to a month and the reasons of the stay are most often holidays or visiting
family or friends.
Juxtaposing answers to questions about travelling abroad with fears of students of people of
other nationalities or ethnic groups we obtain the result that going on holidays does not help
in overcoming prejudice and fear. Among students who expressed fear and prejudice against
others were mostly these who declared trips (usually two-week ones) on holidays. They fear
mostly Muslims (the largest number of answers), individual answers concerned the residents
of Africa – Northern and Sub-Saharan.
This area was not studied, however, it is worth mentioning as an area for a possible
continuation of this research - to what extent tourism, including mass tourism, influences the
creation or reinforcement of prejudice and fears against people of other nationality, ethnicity
or culture.
The last portion of the presented survey results concerns the influence of traditional media,
including statements of politicians in the media, on shaping students' attitudes in each city.
Answers concerning activity of students in social media were selected from the analysis, as
they are a separate type of mass medium that may be a place for self-education of students.
Chart 11a. Traditional media as a source of information for students – Berlin
Source: Author
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Chart 11b. Traditional media as a source of information for students – Krakow
Source: Author
According to the above charts students in Krakow and in Berlin have similar attitudes
towards messages concerning multicultural Europe presented in traditional media. Both
students in Berlin and in Krakow answer that they rather do not watch/listen or do not
remember programmes that would tackle the issue of a multicultural Europe.
Chart 12. Statements of politicians on the radio and on television – students' opinions
Source: Author
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The above chart presents differences in students' opinions about statements of politicians in
traditional media (radio, television). Students in Krakow stated that programs they watch are
highly political, contrary to the students from Berlin.
Chart 13. Statements of politicians on the radio and on television about multicultural Europe – students'
opinions
Source: Author
Making data from the previous two charts more precise, where students' observations
concerning participation of politicians in radio or TV programs are presented, they were
asked in the survey about the participation of politicians in discussions about multicultural
Europe. Students from Krakow declared a similar number of statements of politicians like
students from Berlin but at the same time they less often pay attention to such statements.
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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Chart 14. Students' opinions concerning the statement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the failure
of the so-called "multikulti" policy
Source: Author
Students from Berlin and Krakow shows different attitudes in relating to the words of
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel about the failure of the "multikulti' policy. The majority
of students from Berlin declared that they do not agree with Merkel's statement, but students
from Krakow said that they are not interested in this issue or they agree with the statement.
Discrepancy of students' attitudes in each city is rather the result of students' own experience
and their social competence shaped in certain social conditions – students from Berlin live
their live in a multicultural environment; something they can experience every day. We also
can not underestimate the phenomenon of political correctness that −to some extent− might
have influenced the answers of students from Berlin.
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Chart 15. Students' activity in communication through social media
Source: Author
The survey revealed slight differences in using social media by students from Berlin and
Krakow. Students from Berlin use social media less actively than their peers from Krakow.
This may be the result of different ages of students – average age of students from Berlin who
participated in the study was 28 years of age and average age of students from Krakow was
22 years.
Chart 16. Social media used by students
Source: Author
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The above chart shows students' preferences regarding social media that they use. The most
popular ones, both among students from Berlin and Krakow are the social website Facebook
and the content website Youtube. Students from Krakow also pointed to Instagram and
Twitter, as social media they use.6
Chart 17. Students' declarations about having friends of other nationality/ethnicity on social media
Source: Author
A vast majority of students declared that they have people of other nationalities or ethnic
groups among Facebook friends. More students from Krakow said no. Reasons for starting
relations on Facebook are presented in the below chart. Usually, friends on Facebook are
people who know each other personally. In the case of students from Krakow there is more
variety in reasons why students start relations with others.
6
Answers about the popularity of Facebook and Youtube result from many previous surveys so in the
questionnaire the analysis of students' activity on Facebook has been adopted.
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Chart 18. Reasons for having friends of other nationality or ethnicity
Source: Author
Chart 19. Activity of students in searching for and analysing information about multiculturalism
Source: Author
The analysis of activity on the Internet points to differences in the interest in the topic of
multiculturalism of students from Berlin and Krakow. The former more often declare
searching for and analysing information devoted to the issue of multiculturalism or people of
other nationality or ethnicity on the Internet. Students from Krakow, as compared with their
KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63
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peers from Berlin, more often point to the lack of interest in this topic. This conclusion results
from the analysis of the number of people who do not remember when they searched for such
information on the Internet, as well as open declarations of people about lack of interest in
this issue.
Chart 20. Being a member of a group or community connected with the issue of multiculturalism on
Facebook
Source: Author
The above table presents declarations about students' membership in groups and communities
on Facebook. Students' attitudes expressed by belonging to them are different. Students from
Berlin are more often members of groups and communities that are devoted to intercultural
dialogue, promoting tolerance in a multicultural world and supporting integration of
immigrants in a new environment. On the other hand, students from Krakow usually said that
they were not interested in this issue. In addition, it is worth emphasising that both students
from Berlin and from Krakow rarely declare negative attitudes towards the creation of
multicultural states - the lowest index concerns declarations of membership in groups and
communities that gather people around the idea of objection to building multicultural states.
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE SURVEY AND PERSPECTIVES OF
FURTHER RESEARCH
The carried out pilot survey revealed differences in attitudes of students from Berlin and
Krakow. Students studying in Krakow pay more attention to multiculturalism of the
environment they function in, what may prove that the change from a nationally homogenous
to a more multicultural society draws their attention. On the other hand, students from Berlin
treat multicultural environment they function in as natural - many respondents declare that
they pay no attention to people of other nationalities and ethnic groups around them. Among
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students in Berlin individualisation of relations is also more noticeable – they pay attention to
people, not to their nationality or ethnicity.
Students from Krakow are also more prejudiced and have more fears than their peers from
Berlin. Interestingly, negative experiences, like being the victim of violence motivated by
nationality, ethnicity, skin colour, views or religion are to a greater extent shared by students
in Berlin than in Krakow. At the same time, the former declare a much lower level of
prejudice than the latter. This may provoke a conclusion that one's own experiences, even
negative ones, do not lead to increased prejudice and fear, also due to individualisation of
social relations.
Students in Krakow pointed to a high level of political content of messages in electronic
media – on the radio and on TV. At the same time, in the case of both groups of students, it
has not been established that politicians' statements influence different attitudes, they can,
however have impact on preserving schemas and prejudice as well as reinforcing fears.
Also travelling and staying abroad does not influence overcoming prejudice and fears – these
have more often been declared by students from Krakow, who at the same time declared
travelling for a period not longer than a month on holiday.
In the case of both groups of students the source of prejudice are fears connected with
religious differences and influence of another religion on everyday life. Students from Berlin
and from Krakow said that their fears and prejudice are mainly against people of Muslim
origin, practising Islam.
Students in Krakow more often communicate with the use of social media than students in
Berlin. The latter at the same time declare that they more often use social media to search for
information connected with multiculturalism, promoting tolerance and helping immigrants to
assimilate with the society. At the same time both groups declared a rather low level of
interest and activity in groups, whose aim is opposing to building multicultural societies,
what may be treated as a positive effect. The analysis how students in both cities use social
media has shown that they do not use them to start new relations but only move relations
existing in real life to the Internet. We cannot therefore definitely say that students' activity in
social media influences overcoming stereotypes and eliminating prejudice, although in the
long run it may be important, particularly in the light of increasing educational mobility of
students. By emphasising the importance of project identities7, Manuel Castells points out
that their aim is changing cultural codes that create frameworks for communication in the
network society. The result is changing the culture of virtual reality and supplementing it
with alternative values. (2009: 385) It can thus be supposed that this mobility, international
and intercultural contacts in the real world will in the future create new project identities. All
the more so, as Jan van Dijk remarks: "The Internet does not replace the existing ways of
communication but supplements them. /…/ thanks to the support of the network and various
weak bonds (coexisting with the traditional strong bonds) new communication groups and
even new community types are created.”(Van Dijk 2010: 237)
The carried out survey at the same time found planes for continuing deepened analyses in
order to further state the dependence between own experiences of an individual, the
educational process and the impact of stereotypes on shaping attitudes in communication
processes. These analyses are particularly important in determining differences between
representatives of other multicultural communities, e.g. attitudes of young people in France,
where also the level of saturation of the society with multiculturalism is significant and at the
same time, unlike in Germany, integration of immigrants with the environment, through
social activities, is not as effective as in Germany.
7
The importance of project identities as exemplification of political self-awareness and representation of
different ideologies is also mentioned by Darin Barney in The Network Society (2008: 172)
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The survey also made it possible to draw a conclusion that students from Berlin living in a
multicultural environment are less prejudiced and less fearful of multiculturalism than
students in Krakow (Poles and Ukrainians), for whom multiculturalism is still a social
novelty. This proves that living in a multicultural environment, despite experiencing violence
more often, helps individualisation of perception of people of other nationalities, ethnic or
cultural groups, i.e. really eliminates stereotypes. Students from Krakow (Poles and
Ukrainians) who have less contact with cultural variety (results presented in Table 1 proved
it) usually follow stereotypes when defining their attitude towards the environment.8 An
interesting area for qualitative research that may be continuation of the carried out pilot
study, is the observation of communication in social media in different groups and
communities whose aim is to promote tolerance, equality, intercultural dialogue, and
supporting immigrants in their assimilation with the environment. Such research would make
it possible to show real differences in arguments used by young people in different countries,
who are for or against the idea of building multicultural societies.
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8
According to Walter G. Stephan and Cookie W. Stephan: "When a stereotype is activated it can trigger the
mechanism of a self-fulfilling prophecy. This process consists of three stages. First, people are prone to look for
such information that will confirm their expectations. Second, information confirming the stereotype draws
attention better and is better coded, unless the evidence contrary to the expectations is strong and unambiguous.
Even if the information undermining the stereotype is remembered, it will probably not be attributed to internal
factors and, moreover, the person who does not fit the stereotype is often disliked. Third, expectations resulting
from a stereotype influence human behaviour, increasing the possibility that a representative of a foreign group
will react in a way confirming the expectations.” (2003: 42).
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van Dijk J., (2010), Social Aspects of the New Media [Społeczne aspekty nowych mediów],
Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.
Stephan W. G., Stephan C. W., (2003), Intergroup Relations [Wywieranie wpływu przez grupy],
Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk.
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KOME − An International Journal of Pure Communication Inquiry Volume 2 Issue Y2 37-63