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The Role of Social Media Content in Migration Aspirations: Mixed-Methods Evidence From Two Senegalese Regions

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  • Meierrieks, Daniel
  • Stier, Julia

Abstract

How does the viewing of social media content produced by Senegalese migrants residing in Europe correlate with migration aspirations of people in Senegal? We answer this research question by interrogating original survey data from two regions in Senegal, Dakar and the Casamance, as well as original interview data of (potential) Senegalese migrants, repatriates, migration experts, and stakeholders. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines our qualitative interview and quantitative survey data, we provide robust evidence that viewing more social media content produced by compatriots in Europe coincides with stronger migration aspirations among respondents in Dakar and the Casamance. We also shed light on potential mechanisms. Here, our findings suggest that viewers of social media content by Senegalese migrants in Europe express higher admiration for migrants, consider the migration journey to Europe to be more viable and expect life in Europe to be especially rewarding. Our findings are in line with the cognitive migration model, which posits that migration aspirations are shaped by the potential migrants’ mental time travel to an imagined future abroad. We argue that browsing social media content produced by Senegalese migrants residing in Europe creates particularly positive notions about migration and life in Europe, fueling migration aspirations by facilitating and making the cognitive migration of people in Dakar and the Casamance especially appealing.

Suggested Citation

  • Meierrieks, Daniel & Stier, Julia, 2025. "The Role of Social Media Content in Migration Aspirations: Mixed-Methods Evidence From Two Senegalese Regions," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue OnlineFir, pages 1-34.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:325860
    DOI: 10.1177/01979183251376544
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eva Thulin & Bertil Vilhelmson, 2016. "The Internet and Desire to Move: The Role of Virtual Practices in the Inspiration Phase of Migration," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 107(3), pages 257-269, July.
    2. Linguère Mbaye, 2014. "“Barcelona or die”: understanding illegal migration from Senegal," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Ahmad Sadiddin & Andrea Cattaneo & Marinella Cirillo & Meghan Miller, 2019. "Food insecurity as a determinant of international migration: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(3), pages 515-530, June.
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    5. Marie†Laurence Flahaux, 2017. "The Role of Migration Policy Changes in Europe for Return Migration to Senegal," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 868-892, December.
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