Te ara Matihiko : exploring affirmative social media use among rangatahi Māori : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Psychology (endorsement in Health Psychology) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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2023
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Massey University
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Social media is now a salient aspect of the contemporary realities faced by rangatahi Māori (young Indigenous people of New Zealand) in Aotearoa (New Zealand). It’s use has grown exponentially over the past twenty years, however the use of social media by rangatahi Māori is not well understood. While some research in the area has been conducted among rangatahi Māori, it is an extremely under-researched topic for Māori. The present study aims to fill this gap by using a culturally appropriate research framework, that centres the voices of rangatahi Māori with strong Māori identities, in order to gain a deeper understanding of their practices and experiences on social media. This is a qualitative Kaupapa Māori study that drew on Co-operative Inquiry to explore the social media practices and experiences of two purposively sampled friendship groups (seven participants in total). All participants self-identified as having strong Māori identities. Four wānanga were held with each group over two months (eight wānanga in total). Wānanga were conducted in both Te Reo Māori and English. Phenomenological Thematic Analysis informed an analysis that produced rich insights into participants experiences. Two main themes were generated in the analysis process. Theme one, ‘He Ara Whakaoranga: Enhancing wellbeing’ illustrated how participants leveraged different affordances of social media through affirmative practices to enhance different aspects of their lives. Theme two, ‘He Ara Taumaha: The struggles of social media’, illustrated the key challenges faced by rangatahi and the strategies they implemented to navigate these challenges. This study identified the potential for social media to enhance rangatahi wellbeing, through numerous affordances and affirmative practices. Racism and managing time spent on social media were identified as key challenges for participants, despite efforts to navigate them. By highlighting these experiences, the study identified capitalist and prejudiced structures that undermined the self-agency of rangatahi. These must be addressed. The study concludes with important directions for future research, and outlines the implications of these findings for parents, educators, health services, and policy makers.