Facebook Activism among Marginalized Foreign Workers

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25590114
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokushima
• Principal Investigator: Ueno Kayoko 徳島大学, 大学院ソシオ・アーツ・アンド・サイエンス研究部, 教授 (50213377)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: Facebook / シンガポール / サイバーアクティビズム / 外国人家事労働者 / 労働運動 / NGO

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines the use of social media for online activism among live-in foreign domestic workers constrained to the private sphere of their employers. The specific research target is Filipina domestic workers in Singapore who use a Facebook group designed by an NGO to facilitate a social movement for freedom, equality and justice. Data analyzed include follow-up of 126,216 Facebook posts over three years, face-to-face interviews with members of the Facebook group and participant observation of various offline group activities. Evidence suggests that low visibility domestic work actually increases opportunities for domestic workers to connect with fellow workers and the NGO on line and, by so doing, improve labour conditions. Two examples of changes due to domestic workers’ use of Facebook for social activism are also noted.

Free Research Field

社会学