digital technology
Definition
Digital technology refers to internet-connected devices, platforms, and communication systems—including mobile phones, social media, and related applications—that enable synchronous and asynchronous intercultural contact across geopolitical boundaries and physical distances. These technologies have fundamentally transformed acculturation processes by allowing migrants, refugees, and international students to maintain near-continuous connection with their heritage culture, access extensive information about settlement countries, and engage with both co-ethnic and majority-culture communities regardless of geographic location. Digital technologies operate concurrently with face-to-face interaction and create new dimensions of cultural contact, identity negotiation, and community formation that challenge traditional acculturation frameworks.
Sources: Stuart et al. (2025)
Related Terms
Applications
Digital Technology and Acculturation
Digital technologies reshape acculturation by enabling migrants to maintain transnational ties while simultaneously building connections in their settlement country through multiple channels. This dual connectivity can produce both adaptive benefits and risks, including heightened stress when online engagement with heritage culture hinders face-to-face integration with the host society.
Sources: Stuart et al. (2025)
Digital Technology and Migration
Digital technologies influence migration decision-making and movement patterns by increasing access to information about destination countries, reducing uncertainties associated with migration, and enabling communication with diaspora communities in settlement countries.
Sources: Stuart et al. (2025)
