From silenced to connected: measuring language-based identity expansion through digital media

Social media have become a central arena for identity construction, particularly for minority communities whose languages and cultures have been historically marginalized. Drawing on self-expansion theory, this study examines how social media facilitate language-based identity expansion within the Kurdish community in Türkiye. Despite long-standing suppression of the Kurdish language and culture, digital platforms provide new spaces for linguistic reconnection, cultural expression, and the reinforcement of collective identity. While self-expansion theory has traditionally focused on interpersonal contexts, little empirical research has examined identity expansion as a collective, language-centered process in digital environments.

An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with Kurdish participants informed the development of the Scale of Language-Based Identity Expansion through Digital Media (SLIEDM). In the quantitative phase, the scale was evaluated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In Study 2, a cross-sectional survey tested associations between language-based identity expansion and key social-psychological variables, including group identification, life satisfaction, age, and patterns of language use on digital media.

Factor analyses supported a unidimensional structure of the SLIEDM with strong psychometric properties. Quantitative findings demonstrated that engagement in one's mother tongue on digital media was associated with language-based identity expansion and collective identification processes. Language-based identity expansion was positively associated with the use of Kurdish on digital media, in-group identification, and life satisfaction, whereas age was negatively associated with identity expansion. Group identification and native language use on social media emerged as significant predictors of identity expansion.

The findings indicate that social media function as a critical context for language-based identity expansion among marginalized groups. Digital engagement in one's mother tongue supports language-based identity expansion by strengthening group identification and enhancing psychological well-being. These results extend self-expansion theory beyond interpersonal domains to collective, language-centered identity processes in digital environments. The study highlights the importance of language use in online spaces as a psychological and cultural resource for minority communities and provides a validated instrument for future research on identity expansion across diverse sociopolitical contexts.