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From silenced to connected: measuring language-based identity expansion through digital media
Naif Ergün1, Ziyattin Yıldırımçakar2, Mehmet Şirin Filiz2
1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature, Mardin Artuklu University, Mardin, Türkiye. naifergun@artuklu.edu.tr.
BMC Psychology
|May 5, 2026
Summary
Social media enable marginalized groups, like the Kurds in Türkiye, to expand their language-based identity and well-being. Digital engagement in native languages strengthens collective identification and life satisfaction.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Sociolinguistics
- Digital Communication
Background:
- Social media platforms are crucial for identity construction, especially for marginalized minority communities.
- Self-expansion theory is applied to understand language-based identity expansion within the Kurdish community in Türkiye.
- Digital spaces offer new avenues for linguistic reconnection and cultural expression for suppressed groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how social media facilitate language-based identity expansion among the Kurdish community in Türkiye.
- To investigate the relationship between digital language use, identity expansion, and psychological well-being.
- To extend self-expansion theory to collective, language-centered identity processes in digital environments.
Main Methods:
- An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used, starting with qualitative interviews.
- The Scale of Language-Based Identity Expansion through Digital Media (SLIEDM) was developed and validated using factor analyses (EFA, CFA).
- A cross-sectional survey (Study 2) assessed associations between SLIEDM scores and variables like group identification, life satisfaction, age, and digital language use.
Main Results:
- The SLIEDM demonstrated strong psychometric properties and a unidimensional structure.
- Engagement in one's mother tongue on digital media correlated positively with language-based identity expansion and collective identification.
- Language-based identity expansion was positively linked to Kurdish language use online, in-group identification, and life satisfaction, but negatively with age.
Conclusions:
- Social media serve as a vital context for language-based identity expansion in marginalized populations.
- Digital native language use enhances group identification and psychological well-being, supporting identity expansion.
- Findings extend self-expansion theory to collective digital identity processes and highlight the value of online language use as a resource for minority communities.
Keywords:
Digital mediaIdentity expansionLanguage-based identityMixed methodsSelf-expansionSocial mediaMore Related Videos
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