Edinburgh Napier University

  This study aims to investigate the role of online social networks in highly skilled migrants’ wellbeing. The research focused on Russian-speaking migrants in the UK. It was designed around a case study of a Russian-speaking online forum for migrants in the UK. The literature on migration, wellbeing, integration, social networks and social media were researched to establish a conceptual framework and position the study within a larger field of research. A mixed-methods approach was used, employing literature review and primary research to collect and analyse data from an online forum scrape and an online survey. The forum was scraped for a period of 12 months and analysed using social networks and statistical analysis in R. An online survey was administered via social media and analysed using statistical analysis in SPSS. Ethical issues regarding online social media data research have been considered and addressed.

The findings suggest that there is no direct link between online networks and migrants’ life satisfaction. However, there is evidence that online networks play a role in wellbeing through links with integration and social support. Online networks contribute to integration through providing information support to improve migrants’ knowledge of host communities; and emotional/affirmation support to affirm their socio-cultural identities. The findings revealed that migrants with links to the host country reported higher levels of wellbeing, whereas migrants with stronger links to the home country reported lower levels of wellbeing. These results indicate that migrants’ wellbeing and integration is strongly linked to developing bridging social capital in the host country. Online social networks can be instrumental in this. The study will contribute to knowledge on migration, online networks, social support and the ethics of online research. It will inform academics, practitioners and the wider public on the role of migrants’ social networks in their wellbeing.