{"paper_id":"e49e5bcb-1ae1-416a-a9b6-44fbc1285872","body_text":"The Gradual Hybridization of Belonging: A Qualitative Study of Chinese Migrants in Geneva | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Gradual Hybridization of Belonging: A Qualitative Study of Chinese Migrants in Geneva Dandan DONG This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6506207/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study conducts a qualitative approach to examine the everyday practices of Chinese migrants in Geneva, Switzerland, unveiling how they gradually shape a hybrid sense of belonging through the interplay of structural constraints, personal agency, and mediation by ICTs. The findings indicate that the construction of belonging among these migrants does not follow a linear path of assimilation but rather evolves through innovative uses of everyday media tactics and ICTs. Migrants tactically employ self-presentation, weave transnational information networks, construct digital communities, and engage in technological empowerment to convert gaps in the legal, social, and economic structures into spaces of flexible belonging. The research highlights the non-uniform, tactical, and open-ended nature of hybrid belonging. As this form of belonging continuously reconfigures itself, ICTs emerge as crucial mediators, and everyday practices become critical arenas that allow migrants to navigate their existence “here and there.” This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex processes that migrants navigate and broadens the conceptualization of digital diaspora and the digital transformation of social networks. It underscores the significance of hybrid belonging as an evolving, mediated, and lived experience, redefining how migrants negotiate their identities amidst the constraints and opportunities of their new environments. Social science/Cultural and media studies Social science/Sociology Migratory career hybridity of territories belonging online media practice everyday life figuration practices boundary work Introduction Belonging is a fundamental yet complex aspect of migration research, shaping how individuals reposition themselves across multiple social, cultural, and spatial contexts (Albert, 2021 ; Afonso et al., 2023 ). While studies based on traditional migration theories generally framed belonging through assimilation or dual affiliation to home and host countries (Dusi et al., 2015 ; Klingenberg et al., 2021 ; Hansen and Olsen, 2023 ; Drouhot, 2024 ), more recent scholarship highlights its fluid, hybrid, and dynamic nature (Komisarof, 2021 ; Anoosh and Thorpe, 2023 ; Spaaij et al., 2023 ; Özçürümez and Sönmez Gioftsios, 2025 )—particularly in transnational and digital contexts (Afonso et al., 2023 ). With the widespread adoption of ICTs, migrants increasingly navigate and negotiate belonging across both digital and physical spaces. However, existing research tends to treat digital connectivity either as a tool for sustaining transnational ties (Brandhorst et al., 2020 ; Hjorth, 2022 ; Abel et al., 2021 ) or as a means of integrating into host societies (Wilding and Winarnita, 2022 ; Candidatu and Ponzanesi, 2022 ), often overlooking how these interactions shape an emergent, hybrid form of belonging that unfolds over time. This study examines how Chinese migrants in Geneva use ICTs to construct a sense of belonging that transcends binary models of home and host society, and analyzes how digital interactions shape the layered and evolving nature of migrant belonging. Building on Michel de Certeau’s theory of everyday life practices (De Certeau and Rendall, 2011 [1988]), this study conceptualizes ICT use as a key site of boundary negotiation, spatial reconfiguration, and identity work. Besides, Geneva provides a networked society case due to its status as a globalized, multilingual city (Meyer, 2013 ; Cattacin and Kettenacker, 2011 ) with a diverse Chinese migrant community, ranging from expatriates in international organizations to small business owners and students. Unlike previous studies that primarily examine well-established Chinese diaspora groups (Krause and Li, 2020 ; Liu and Gallois, 2021 ), this research considers how ICTs mediate the experiences of both recent and long-term ordinary migrants, capturing the evolving nature of their social integration and identity formation. Using a qualitative methods approach—including oral histories, in-depth interviews, digital trace analysis, and participant observation while taking questionaries as pre-text—this study investigates how migrants’ digital and physical practices converge in their daily lives. It focuses on how these practices shape migrants’ sense of belonging through perceptions of living conditions, boundary work, experiences, and projections. By foregrounding the continuous, temporal, and hybrid evolution of migrant belonging, this study highlights the integration of material-digital practices that extend beyond conventional social media analyses to include a broader spectrum of everyday activities. This approach not only enriches the understanding of digital practices as socio-cultural phenomena, but also offers a micro view of how migrants negotiate belonging in their daily lives. Collectively, this research contributes to reconceptualizing belonging as an evolving, hybrid, and digitally mediated process, offering a more nuanced framework for understanding well-being construction in the context of contemporary migration. The Turn of Conceptual Framework Sociological and communication research has developed a range of perspectives on how migrants experience and negotiate belonging. Empirical studies grounded in social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, 2001 [1979]) demonstrate that migrants’ well-being and integration often depend on their ability to affiliate with valued social groups (Wang and Giovanis, 2024 ), such as national or local communities, and to be perceived as insiders (Jetten et al., 2018 ; Welsch et al., 2021 ). Meanwhile, symbolic interactionist research highlights the importance of everyday encounters and meaning-making processes (Phinney et al., 2001 ), showing how migrants construct belonging through social interactions that affirm or challenge their sense of self (Graham-Brown, 2022 ; Plöger and Kubiak, 2019 ; Sandu, 2013 ). Beyond these interpersonal and identity-centered frameworks, empirical studies based on transnationalism (Levitt and Schiller, 2004 ) and cultural hybridity (Bhabha, 2012 [1994]; Anthias, 2001 ) have shown how migrants simultaneously engage with multiple cultural reference points and social fields across national borders, often cultivating hybrid identities that resist neat classifications of assimilation or cultural retention (Pries, 2004 ; Wong, 2008 ; Boccagni, 2012 ; Valgardsson and Nardon, 2025 ; Boland, 2020 ). These approaches have been particularly influential in understanding how globalization and cross-border mobility complicate traditional notions of national belonging, and collectively underscored a shift from dichotomous models of assimilation or separation to a more nuanced view of belonging as dynamic, multifaceted, and relational. However, while these studies have indirectly shed light on migrants’ sense of belonging through analyses of identity formation, emotional ties, and transnational networks, they have primarily focused on the structural and symbolic dimensions of belonging. As a result, the embodied, material, and processual aspects—how migrants actively perform, negotiate, and remake belonging in the course of everyday life—remain underexplored. In this context, Michel de Certeau’s theory of everyday practices, particularly his concepts of tactics and spatial practices (De Certeau and Rendall, 2011 [1988]; Highmore, 2006 ), offers a valuable lens for understanding how migrants adapt to and re-signify their surroundings through mundane actions in public space. This perspective is especially relevant in light of the growing role of ICTs, which increasingly mediate these everyday practices and contribute to the emergent, hybrid nature of migrant belonging across both digital and physical domains. RQ1: How does Michel de Certeau’s theory of everyday practices enhance our understanding of the formation of hybrid belonging among migrants? ICTs, Everyday Life Practices, and the Chinese Migrant Experience While earlier research has richly conceptualized migrant belonging in terms of identity, social structure, and cultural hybridity, digital technologies have introduced new dimensions that remain comparatively underexamined. Existing studies on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have primarily emphasized their role in maintaining transnational ties—such as real-time contact with family(Şenyürekli and Detzner, 2009 ; Calvo et al., 2024 ; Mendivil-Aguayo et al., 2024 ), participation in cultural rituals (Nguyễn et al., 2024 ; Gamba and Cattacin, 2021 ), or access to native-language media (Elias and Abdulaev, 2022 ; Sun and Yu, 2022 ; Huang and Miao, 2021 ; Zhao, 2021 ). These practices foster emotional continuity and ethnic cohesion, particularly among Chinese migrants who engage platforms like WeChat to sustain symbolic and practical connections with their homeland. However, scholars have also raised concerns that overreliance on intra-ethnic digital networks can lead to reduced interaction with the host society (Croucher et al., 2019 ) and limit exposure to diverse social environments (Forbush and Foucault-Welles, 2016 ). What remains insufficiently explored is how ICTs do not merely reproduce transnational connections but also act as tools of everyday cultural practice within local contexts. A small but growing body of empirical research has begun to investigate how digital engagement shapes migrants’ sense of place and participation in host communities (Marino, 2015 ; Ratnam et al., 2024 ; Kim and Kim, 2021 ). These insights suggest that digital and physical practices are deeply interwoven, and that migrants’ use of ICTs may serve as a bridge—rather than a barrier—between ethnic cohesion and local integration. Yet, few studies have examined how this interplay unfolds in the everyday lives of migrants, particularly in relation to Chinese immigrants in European urban settings. RQ2: How do ICTs, as tools of cultural practice, intervene in and shape the process of constructing a sense of belonging among Chinese migrants in Geneva? Methodology This study adopts a qualitative methods approach combining oral histories, in-depth interviews, digital trace analysis, and participant observation, while take questionnaires as pre-text. While the core of the research is qualitative—centering on in-depth interviews—the initial phase employed a multilingual questionnaire developed through the A UNIC 1 project, which was translated from French into both Chinese and English 2 . The questionnaire was distributed to Chinese migrants living in Geneva and served primarily as a means to build trust and facilitate contact for subsequent interviews. It also yielded some valuable preliminary data and helped identify additional participants, with particular attention to diversifying the sample along key demographic dimensions. To balance representativeness and typicality, the sample was composed to reflect variation in nationality, gender, 3 age, occupation, and length of stay in Geneva (see Table 1 ). In terms of inclusion criteria, interviewees had to have lived in Geneva for at least one year and not been born there. Their length of residence ranged from one to 24 years. Three participants were naturalized citizens of Switzerland and provided insights on longer life stories related to Chinese migration to Geneva. 4 All participants were adults and still lived in Geneva. 5 Table 1 The Demographic Summary of Participants Index Features Nationality 32 migrants of Chinese origin, two Japanese Chinese, one French Chinese, one Malaysian Chinese, and one Brazilian Chinese Gender 12 male migrants and 25 female migrants Age Average age is about 33 years old Occupation Nine types Length of stay in Geneva Average length is about 4 years In total, 34 migration stories were collected 6 from new Chinese migrants (referred to as newcomers in this article), and three oral histories of Chinese migration in Geneva were collected from longer-term Chinese migrants (referred to as oldcomers 7 in this article). All data were collected through semi-structured interviews. In addition, the study examined new migrants’ stories about their daily media use, especially on the Chinese messaging app WeChat (e.g., frequency, main purpose, length of use, and type of contact)(Chen, 2021 ), and experiences with digital community participation. These interviews were complemented by the analysis of digital traces, including these interviewers’ public WeChat and Instagram posts and three online groups’ content related to themes of belonging. All textual materials—including interview transcripts, oral histories, and digital content—were coded (Bryant and Charmaz, 2010[2007]). The analysis was structured around three core categories: migratory career, everyday media practices, and sense of belonging. Within these, the coding encompassed four categories: diachronic changes in social identity, subjective perceptions of success and failure, changing legal and economic status, and time. Finally, it is useful to briefly consider my reflexivity as a researcher {Goundar, 2025 #522}. As a Chinese migrant who also lives in Geneva, I was welcomed by Chinese migrants and various online media groups as an “insider.” In this context, the term “insider” refers to an individual who shares the beliefs, sentiments, and struggles of other Chinese migrants in Geneva. In addition, an insider speaks Mandarin, shares and understands behaviors, and “gets” the living reality of belonging-related issues in both Geneva and China. This shared understanding was key for establishing connections during the recruitment process and building trust permitting me to enter eight online Chinese WeChat groups in Geneva. Furthermore, as a young researcher who was educated at an institution in Geneva and eager to learn about “local” Chinese experiences of belonging, I was able to have relatively equal exchanges with the participants, many of whom were older and more experienced than me despite not having “expertise” in migration. On the other hand, my perceived social status as a researcher and an “intellectual” may have led interviewees to try to pander to my questions during the interviews. To address this bias, I tried to only use information that was repeated by different respondents during the interviews. The Migratory Careers of Chinese Migrants in Geneva The migratory paths of interviewees were non-linear and multi-directional, which can be captured through the concept of a migratory career (Di Martino et al., 2020 ). The latter emphasizes the experiences of individuals and communities and puts into perspective ancient conceptual tools. It views the process of migration as the continuous abandonment of ties to one’s origins; examples include assimilation, integration, or incorporation, which are most commonly used in traditional sociological approaches to migration (Park, 1928 ; Hoffmann-Nowotny, 1970 ). However, these traditional concepts do not capture the different types of migratory careers identified among Chinese interviewees in Geneva. Existing broad typological descriptions of Chinese migrants in Switzerland divide migratory careers according to time. Chinese migration to Switzerland can be separated into five stages according to arrival period: before 1949, during the 1960s, from the 1960s to the 1970s, during the late 1970s, and from the mid-1990s to the present (Spickard, 2013 ). This typology enables periods of migration to be described. Regarding patterns of migration during these periods, it can be observed that, migrants have been characterized by their class affiliation (i.e., given the general situation in Europe, richer Chinese people migrate to Switzerland, while poorer Chinese people migrate to other countries) and pursuit of education, which varied in terms of received and searched education (Spickard, 2013 ). To further refine this typology and describe differences between Chinese migrants in Geneva in greater detail, I used four dimensions related to the concept of migratory career: diachronic changes in social identity, subjective perceptions of success, changing legal and economic status, and time (Martiniello and Rea, 2014 ). Diachronic changes in social identity After at least one year of living in Geneva, all participants observed a discrepancy between their initial expectations and actual experiences as migrants. Some of the interviewees moved to Geneva for love or family (Mai and King, 2009 ), while others migrated to pursue studies, work, or material wealth. Moreover, economic status played a very important role in participants’ self-identification. Most respondents said that they strove to lead a decent life and that their economic situation had improved. However, a minority expressed that their economic situation has considerably deteriorated. In addition, some of the interviewed students said that they had no sense of economic status. The common denominator was that most respondents had undergone a difficult period in terms of social and economic concerns when they tried to find their place – their place in a stable figuration – in Geneva. One interviewee (Tian Yuan 8 , aged 60, has lived in Geneva for seven years) said that she perceived her status as middle class in Switzerland but higher class in China. She originally moved to Geneva for love and to reunite with family, but she experienced her husband’s betrayal and family changes within a few years of arrival. The advantages that she had previously had in China disappeared when she migrated to Geneva, and her social life, personal identity, and dignity were drastically affected. Instead of searching offline contacts in Geneva, the participant sought digital spaces of interrelatedness via social media 9 to make friends from other countries, especially on WhatsApp and Messenger. She also relied on Chinese social media with tactics of self-representation (self-dramaturgical performances in “WeChat Moments”) to find the psychological comfort of belonging via online recognitions. All in all, Migrants’ initial identity expectations often clash with local realities, compelling them to compensate through online symbolic actions and to reconstruct their social networks across cultural margins. Over time, their original Chinese identity capital becomes ineffective within the Swiss context, leading to gradual fragmented belonging. Subjective perceptions of success For migrants, the “success” of a migration career might not be clear because they usually have multiple goals at the beginning of migration. By exploring their perception construction, it is possible to identify the media tactics that migrants use and the importance of media in their everyday lives. Studying their perceptions through the lens of migration career focuses on the entire migration process rather than a specific stage, which is exactly a figuration practice. An old Chinese proverb accurately describes the uniqueness and appeal of subjective success research: “One man’s arsenic is another man’s honey.” That is, failure for some people but not for others. In the traditional Chinese understanding of success and failure, these concepts are often related to social status, prestige, resources, and wealth (Fan and Karnilowicz, 1997 ). During the interviews, we found that participants gradually became comfortable with the status quo in Geneva. The new internet buzzword “Buddha”, which refers to a life attitude that pursues inner peace rather than traditional Chinese fighting spirits, appeared in the Chinese circles in Geneva. Most of the Chinese migrants in Geneva gradually pretended to “strive to love nature and sports like the Swiss,” written on WeChat Moments by a newcomer to Geneva (Xiang Ma, aged 25, has lived in Geneva for one year). This representation of Swiss habits in Chinese migrants’ minds is part of a media tactic of resistance (when it is told to others). Regarding subjective perceptions of success and failure, all interviewees reported a sense of failure, whether it was related to finances, family life, or their studies; this was very different from what they had imagined before migration. However, they also said that they were satisfied with their lives: Although there are a lot of bad things here, I am still relatively satisfied. I don’t feel much pressure, although life is a bit boring. Friends in China think that I have a good life here, so I feel a slight sense of success. So that’s enough for me. (Jiao Huang, aged 36, has lived in Geneva for two to three years) With the help of ICTs, Chinese migrants in Geneva, such as Xiang Ma and Jiao Huang, display their lives on Chinese social platforms. They try to show the positive side of their lives as much as possible and choose to hide their pain in the black box of media. Through various tactics, this everyday media practice leads to the desired result: the migrants’ domestic circles of relatives and friends imagine that they have a wealthy and easy life in Geneva. This helps migrants gain a subjective sense of success. From another perspective, this also accelerates their personal adaptation to Geneva; in turn, they further develop a subjective sense of success from adapting to everyday life practices in Geneva. That’s to say, the definition of “success” shifts from material accumulation to a contradictory amalgam: outwardly performing a Swiss naturalistic lifestyle while inwardly conceding to economic stagnation and cultural isolation. This lifestyle transforms feelings of failure into alternative success (envied by relatives and friends in China) through selectively visible media tactics, forming a cognitive dissonance in layers of belonging—simultaneously satisfying local existence and maintaining a transnational face. Changes in migrants’ legal and economic status These influence migrants’ social reality by defining their position in their new place of residence. Most participants said that they did not pay attention to local news and did not trust local political parties and churches due to the negative perceptions of these arenas in China’s social atmosphere, especially its media environment. Most of them were also unwilling to participate in local political activities. One interviewee who did not speak French believed that his “[knowledge in all aspects] was not as good as the locals of Geneva” (Hui Wang, aged 35, has lived in Geneva for seven years). By contrast, 35-year-old Xi Sun, who has lived in Geneva for five years, said that he “has many friends from different industries, and the people of Geneva are very trustworthy.” However, most participants were imperceptibly affected by the social environment of Geneva and no longer afraid to change jobs compared to living in China. In Chinese society, “success in stability” is a traditional idea, and stability is the most important factor in the job-hunting process for most Chinese people. In fact, the main factors that affected migrants’ self-perception of their status were language, degree of initiative, and traditional Chinese ideas about stability. In general, legal status and economic capital create structural thresholds that determine migrants’ mixed permissions. Lower-tier migrants cling to a singular cultural belonging; middle-class migrants have a chance to use their resources to navigate institutional barriers, practicing freer hybrid strategies that highlight the uneven nature of mixing. Time As time passes, migrants reassess their life plans and goals based on their experiences, especially the changing figurations molded by communicative practices (although the timing of these changes is not uniform). Some of the interviewees planned to return to China. Others previously thought of returning to China but decided not to for family reasons. Some first moved to Geneva alone for work, then tried to have their children follow to study. Some were unwilling to return to China without having a success story to tell; alternatively, they plan to move to other East Asian countries such as Japan. However, one commonality is that all participants used WeChat, Weibo, and other Chinese social media platforms to monitor development, festivals, and major ceremonies in China, but also to explore life-changing trajectories and various possibilities to continue their migration career. Over time, migrants develop a nuanced flexibility in their sense of belonging. Time gradually erodes their initial goals, urging them to cultivate a third space of belonging that transcends traditional dichotomies. Through mediated dual temporality—synchronizing with Chinese festivals and participating in local Swiss practices—migrants evolve their understanding of belonging from a rigid binary choice to a dynamic, ongoing process of hybridization. Consequently, they no longer fixate on a singular outcome (such as permanent residency in Switzerland or a triumphant return to China). Instead, through media tactics, they engage in continuous hybridization, adeptly navigating and blending various cultural affiliations and identities without fully committing to any single narrative or locale. This dynamic interplay highlights the fluid and complex nature of migrant senses of belonging. Overall, Chinese migrants in Geneva craft their spaces of belonging through a process of gradual, tactical, and uneven hybridization. Characterized by main shifts in social identity, legal-economic status, and variable perceptions of success, their migratory Careers challenge conventional assimilation and dual-affiliation models, delineating a landscape where belonging is an evolving, embodied, and mediated construct. This emergent form of hybrid belonging materializes within the structural fissures of societal norms, where it is continually shaped by the strategic utilization of digital platforms such as WeChat. These platforms transcend their functional role as mere communicative tools, becoming pivotal in the tactical orchestration of self-representation, affective regulation, and boundary negotiation. In this complex interplay of media use, socio-economic adaptation, and individual agency, ICTs are reenvisioned as essential cultural practices. These technologies enable migrants to navigate the precarious terrains of identity amid structural constraints defined by legal parameters, class dynamics, and the available cultural capital. As such, the process of hybrid belonging does not merely unfold but is actively engineered through migrants’ interactions with both digital and physical realms, reflecting a dynamic negotiation of space and identity that is contingent on the continual reevaluation of personal and collective narratives. This nuanced understanding underscores that hybrid belonging is not a static state but a fluid, ongoing negotiation—a powerful testament to the resilience and ingenuity of migrants as they tactically engage with and transform their environments to accommodate diverse cultural influences and personal aspirations. Everyday Tactics and Figurations of Hybrid Belonging The migratory career framework highlights the structural preconditions that shape Chinese migrants’ ability to hybridize belonging, and elucidates why hybridity is a gradual process. However, the true embodiment and formation of this belonging are realized through everyday practices. Each figuration merges structural influences with personal agency, demonstrating how belonging is dynamically shaped. Regardless of migration forms and origins, most migrants maintain ties to their previous places of residence (Booth et al., 2016 [1997]) and relationships with their country of origin. This bond is embodied not only in everyday practices but also related to personal aspects, such as search of information about China, the use of Mandarin, preferences in taste, or links to Chinese economic associations and activities. Chinese migrants in Geneva are not isolated from their relatives in China. They are skilled to use social media and keep contact with their family members in their region or city of origin, even if most of them cannot move to Geneva with them, especially in the first few years of migration. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most Chinese migrants in Geneva would use their vacation time to visit relatives (e.g., parents, wives, husbands, children, etc.) in their hometowns (Xu et al., 2007 ), especially for festivals such as the Spring Festival. Alternatively, their family members would fly to Geneva after retirement or for holidays. Notably, whenever this happened, the participants uniformly told their parents that they were living well. This reflects the widespread practice of “reporting the good news but not the bad news” among Chinese people, especially regarding children’s education. For example, a 49-year-old participant Wan Tao who has lived in Geneva for two years said, “I don’t want my elderly mother to worry about me at home.” Two female interviewees (Zhao Xiang, aged 34, has lived in Geneva for eight years; Tian Yuan, aged 60, has lived in Geneva for seven years) had similar migratory careers. They first moved to Geneva for work and left their 1-year-old daughters in China in the care of their mothers. After their careers gradually improved, they asked their mothers to send their children to Geneva when they were approximately 3 years old to attend private schools. However, around one year later, the two participants found that they did not have the energy to take care of their children. As a result, they asked their mothers to fly to Geneva and take the children back to China (this phenomenon is called “flying grandmas”; (Xie and Xia, 2011 ) (Tosta, 2016 ). Moreover, because of this experience, both children could speak English and French well; however, they could only speak Chinese, not read, or write Chinese characters. However, many countries have tightened their entry policies due to COVID-19, and the Swiss government has limited access to tourist visas over different periods. Thus, this former offline experience of keeping contacts by vacations and visits is interrupted. Consequently, a practice of translocal online relations based on social media (especially Chinese own ICTs such as WeChat and Weibo) play an unprecedentedly important function: the construction of a new communicative and networking hybrid space of reunion (Ciobanu, 2020 ). The most obvious impact of this habit is they continue to maintain close links with China in different new media spaces; for example, they spontaneously obtain online information to have a common topic to chat about with loved ones and achieve emotional maintenance. This is a side effect of their everyday media practice tactics, which is also a new mode in the processes of the interweaving of link-keeping. In terms of knowledge acquisition, Chinese migrants in Geneva passively participated in discussions about China but did not grasp all current affairs. Even if the acquisition of certain information was out of touch with the Chinese polymedia environment as the length of residence in Geneva increased, they still obtain the latest information from China from another important source: newcomers to Geneva, who arrive in a constant stream. Typically, they would first communicate with each other via a WeChat group, then meet in person after the newcomer arrived in Geneva. They were willing to share information from all aspects except individual affairs with and help each other. 10 When Chinese migrants in Geneva started a family, most of their children learned four languages from an early age: Chinese, French, German, and English. Usually, the participants took the initiative to teach their children Chinese, mostly to allow them to communicate with relatives in China through WeChat or FaceTime. Another aspect of the language connection with China is that, combined with their appearance, Chinese migrants can be identified more quickly in Geneva. One participant shared the following story: It was in a Migros supermarket. I thought she looked like Chinese and I just walked to her and said a word in Chinese. Unexpectedly, she answered me in Chinese immediately… It feels like Chinese is like a secret sign [in Geneva] … Then we added each other’s WeChat numbers and made appointments later through WeChat. (Kuo Ge, aged 40, has lived in Geneva for four years) Thus, Chinese migrants in Geneva sometimes established initial links through language and appearance, then nodding acquaintances gradually developed into friends with the help of Chinese online social media. This seems to have become a routine among Chinese migrant groups. In terms of life habits, Chinese migrants in Geneva have distinctive characteristics. Although most of them will try other European cuisines out of curiosity, they mostly organize gatherings with friends at Chinese restaurants, including but not limited to bringing non-Chinese friends, meeting with new Chinese friends, and having family reunion dinners over Lunar New Year. Thus, patronizing Chinese restaurants enables migrants to engage in vital rituals, which foster their belonging in both China and Geneva. Regardless of the space that Chinese migrants are in (e.g., Chinese restaurants in Geneva) or the practices that they perform (e.g., the public celebration of Chinese festivals in Geneva), rituals strengthen a sense of hybrid belonging, to a certain extent. They not only emphasize that the subject is part of Geneva but also that they have not forgotten their identification as a Chinese person. Notably, this kind of celebration ritual is often accompanied by posts on social media. They express Chinese migrants’ sense of belonging or homesickness via online pictures and text, while WeChat’s location is positioned in Geneva. In the process of content creation, memories are not only synchronously generated (Gamba and Cattacin, 2021 ) but also stored and disseminated in public space. In addition, all interviewees consistently cherished Geneva’s festivals. Some described their favorite festivals and their history when asked the simple question “what’s your favorite Geneva festival.” Most of them expressed sorrow about not being able to participate in Genevan or Swiss festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not only because of the pleasure to participate in these events. Hence, they also lost the possibility to communicate to friends and family in China and via social media (in particular WeChat Moments) the vivid lives that they (apparently) lead in Geneva. Moreover, they could not engage in vital practices aimed at coexistence and the production of mixed spatial practice that connects the local to the global through social media (Gamba and Cattacin, 2021 ). In addition to everyday routines or special rituals based on previous habits or traditions, Chinese meals cooked by newcomers are also a product of hybrid belonging (Schirato, 1993 ). Typically, the participants followed online recipes but adapted them to available products in Geneva: Sometimes when I pass by some places, I smell the tastes that can’t be described even though they are different. I know that there must be Chinese people living in this place. There are so many Chinese recipes in China that every Chinese here will cook at least one or two special Chinese dishes, which taste like home. (Yuan Zhu, aged 30, has lived in Geneva for five years) As Yuan Zhu indicated, nearly every Chinese migrant in Geneva has their own specialty regarding Chinese cuisines. However, this does not mean that they were proficient at cooking before moving to Geneva. On the contrary, most Chinese migrants, especially newcomers, rarely cooked before moving to Geneva because of the intense pace of everyday life and extremely convenient takeout system in China. In Geneva, most of them learn to cook. Even Chinese students who had never cooked before leaving China use media platforms and Chinese kitchen apps. For example, many downloaded kitchen apps, Weibo, TikTok, or YouTube, then followed videos or text tutorials on these platforms to learn how to cut vegetables, adjust spices, stir fry, steam vegetables, make a hot pot, and more. In the meantime, not only did Geneva have countless kebabs, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, and Italian restaurants but also the most authentic Chinese restaurants in Switzerland (i.e., those closest to Chinese tastes). Represented cuisines include Hunan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Sichuan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. One participant said the following: In fact, we all know in our hearts that even the “most authentic” Chinese restaurant in Geneva must have undergone some localization improvements, and it no longer represents pure Chinese taste. However, I’ve been away from China for so long. I couldn’t remember exactly what Chinese food tastes like. However, every time I saw my classmates in China share their dinner pictures in online Moments, I seemed to remember it again. (Meng Wei, aged 27, has lived in Geneva for two years) The above quotation highlights the fuzzy process of belonging. That is, Chinese meals in Geneva comprise the material substrate (Casemajor, 2015 ) that moves and limits the flow of at least two senses of belonging. At the beginning of this figuration of belonging, the making of Chinese dishes was an everyday media practice motivated by Chinese migrants’ homesickness. Newcomers tried to learn specific cooking methods on different social media platforms (e.g., WeChat, Weibo, and Instagram), video websites (e.g., YouTube), and cooking apps. Within this process of figuration practices, the sense of belonging to China occupies an absolute position. However, since the main process of creation of dishes takes place in Geneva and basic ingredients are not accessible some specific steps or concepts will be transformed, adapted, in a certain way, to what can be found in Geneva. The everyday, mediated and hybrid practice, create dishes that indicated migrants’ belonging to China and Geneva (and in some cases, to a specific migration career mixing cooking experiences in cities migrants lived during their life). Thus, as time went by, an individual’s concrete memory gradually became mixed, blurred, and abstracted due to the complexities of their migratory career. During this process, the intervention of online media is critical. They strengthened migrants’ sense of belonging to China, although they may not have weakened their sense of belonging to Geneva and other places. In summary, Chinese migrants in Geneva have an inseparable connection with China (especially to their places of origin) emotionally and physically. Regardless of whether this connection manifests as a flow of information, a language, or eating habits and holiday rituals, it persists in the face of external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and affects members of the second or even third generation. As length of residence increases, this effect quickly subsides within a short period but does not entirely disappear. Nevertheless, the existence of media practices is central in the process of figuration of senses of belonging. When Chinese migrants maintain links with their places of origin in China through media tactics, their sense of belonging is also repeatedly subjected to an ongoing and undirected, random process of dispersion and reorganization. Within this dynamic process created by their whole selves, the gradual hybridization of belonging of at least China and Geneva silently occurs (see Table 1 ). Table 2 Figurations of a hybrid sense of belonging Fragile belongings Elements of physical experiences of territorial belonging Elements of hybridization Symbolic elements (online and offline) To Geneva Local festivities Local social media groups (to organize encounters and exchange practical knowledge) Reconstruction of hybrid identities (stories of complex identities) To other places in the individual’s migratory career Memory (for instance previous job experiences) Translocal social media groups (friends and colleagues met during the individual’s migratory career Objects related to and practices learned during the individual’s migration career (e.g., souvenirs and memories) To the place of origin Holidays (annual, ideally) Translocal social media groups (continuous exchanges with parents) Objects and practices reproduced and from the place of origin (e.g., Chinese cooking with local ingredients) Conclusion This study has illuminated how Chinese migrants in Geneva navigate the complexities of belonging not through straightforward assimilation but via a series of tactical adaptations mediated significantly through ICTs. Central to our findings is how these migrants utilize digital platforms to negotiate, construct, and continually redefine their senses of belonging within a Swiss context—an engagement that markedly shifts away from traditional migratory narratives focused on linear transitions. The concept of a migratory career, enriched by the nuances of everyday media practices, provides a robust framework for understanding these dynamics. Migrants’ interactions on platforms like WeChat and the use of various apps for culinary exploration underscore how ICTs serve not just as tools for communication but as essential components in the crafting of a hybrid cultural belonging. These digital spaces allow for the preservation of cultural ties while also facilitating the incorporation of new cultural elements, resulting in a dynamic, ongoing process of hybridization. It reveals that the construction of belonging is intricately tied to the tactical use of media. The tactical engagement reflects Michel de Certeau’s concept of the “tactics of the weak,” where migrants, positioned within a matrix of legal, social, and economic structures, find agency in their everyday media interactions with time flowing. Through purposeful media tactics, the intervention of information and resulting everyday practices enable Chinese migrants to gradually transform the spaces around them into the Geneva that they want, allowing them to experience hybrid belongings as normality. That is, through different media figurations, every tactic that they used in everyday life played an important role in shaping their mixed sense of belonging. Specially, this paper described four media tactics used by Chinese migrants in Geneva: tactically employ self-presentation, such as by presenting good news but not bad news; weaving transnational information networks; constructing digital communities based on different goals; engaging in technological empowerment. Although Chinese migrants encountered barriers, they gradually learned how and whom to ask for help thanks to WeChat and other social media, and questioning through the everyday increasing personal autonomy their sense of belonging. They know how to make fuller use of it and other ICTs than in the past to maintain social and emotional links to people in China, Geneva, and abroad in the process of media configuration practices —their sense of belonging remains fluid and evolving. All these everyday practices are not merely reactive but are formative, enabling migrants to forge a sense of place and identity that is fluid, contested, and continually evolving. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of ICTs in sustaining these hybrid connections when physical mobility was restricted. Digital platforms became not only a means to maintain familial and community ties but also a method to negotiate the challenges of spatial and social isolation. The strategic use of digital media to manage personal and communal narratives during the pandemic underscores the adaptive and resilient nature of migrant communities. In conclusion, the hybridization of belonging among Chinese migrants in Geneva is processually, fragmentedly, and strategically constructed and reconstructed within cross-cultural and digital contexts. It involves an interplay of individual agency, structural conditions, and the mediating role of ICTs, which together shape the ways in which migrants negotiate their identities across cultural and geographic boundaries. Overall, this research reconceptualizes belonging as a resilient practice nestled within the interstices of structural elements, emphasizing its non-linear and unfinished nature. It highlights the pivotal role of digital tools in the lives of modern migrants and underscores how seemingly mundane everyday practices become crucial arenas for the construction of belonging. Besides, the research not only analyzes how migrants adapt to the culture of their host country but also explores how they maintain connections with their original and third-party cultures, presenting a multidirectional, interactive process of cultural adaptation. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex processes migrants undergo, and a broader understanding of digital diasporas and the digital transformation of social networks. However, this study focuses primarily on first-generation Chinese migrants in Geneva, potentially overlooking the digital-native practices of second-generation migrants, such as cultural remixing on TikTok. This limitation restricts the exploration of intergenerational changes in belonging and hybridity among immigrant children, highlighting the need for future research to address these evolving dynamics and experiences of younger, digital-native migrants. Thus, future research should further explore how these media tactics evolve as migrants adjust over longer periods and how second-generation migrants continue to navigate these hybrid identities. Declarations Funding The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation [grant number 190051]. Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Sandro Cattacin for his dedicated support and patient guidance during this research. Furthermore, I would like to thank Prof. Marylène Lieber, an expert on Chinese migrants in Switzerland, for her kind and valuable discussions and comments. I am also thankful to all interviewees for their participation and engagement in this study. Declaration of conflicting interest The author declares no conflicting interests. Data availability statement The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Ethical approval The research was conducted during a period when the University of Geneva did not have an ethical commission for social sciences. The project was approved by the Swiss National Science Foundation’s ethical analysis (100019E_190051, approval date: 1 st October 2019). In addition, a retrospective ethical approval was granted by the Academic Committee of the School of Marketing and Logistics Management, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics (NUFE20250515, approval date: 15 th May 2025). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent statements Before data collection (which took place from 1 st May 2021 to 1 st September 2022), all participants were informed of the purpose and scope of the study and how the data would be used. 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International Journal 63(1): 79-100. Xie X and Xia Y (2011) Grandparenting in Chinese immigrant families. Marriage & family review 47(6): 383-396. Xu A, Xie X, Liu W, et al. (2007) Chinese family strengths and resiliency. Marriage & family review 41(1-2): 143-164. Zhao X (2021) Digital labour in transnational mobility: Chinese international students’ online boundary work in daigou. New Media & Society 23(9): 2554-2574. Footnotes This research is linked to a larger project called “Unexpected Inclusions: Migration, Mobility and the Open City” (UNIC; project number: 190051). Most Chinese migrants in Geneva can recognize Chinese characters, but some of their adult children could not. It is important to emphasize that the ratio of male to female interviewees corresponded to the actual ratio of men to women among Chinese migrants in Geneva. This difference could be explained by the fact that it is easier for female Chinese migrants to move to Switzerland via marriage compared to male Chinese migrants (Chen et al., 2021). This study uses this somewhat arbitrary residence length to focus on migrants with a common and recent experience of settling in Geneva. This enables participants to easily recall and talk about their migratory paths and practices in Geneva regarding networking and inclusion dynamics. Regarding the definition of migration, returning citizens who have undergone significant or long-term international migration are usually no longer classified as “migrants” despite having undergone a migration journey and experiencing migration. Therefore, the participants involved in this study do not include Chinese migrants in Switzerland who have returned to China or their country of origin. I stopped interviewing people as saturation of information was reached. In contrast to “newcomers,” the term “oldcomers” refers to Chinese migrants who arrived in Geneva in the last century. All interview data were anonymized using pseudonyms. Other social media platforms, such as Facebook, were also used. However, Chinese migrants prefer to use China-based social media platforms such as WeChat to facilitate contact with friends and family in China. This seems to be different from the situation of Chinese migrants in Lausanne. According to Lieber Gabbiani and Levy, “there is no communication between the latecomers and the firstcomers” (Spickard, 2013 ). Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-6506207\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":469730638,\"identity\":\"29e9c5dd-409e-4d13-be18-4ee462004493\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Dandan DONG\",\"email\":\"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAklEQVRIie3RMUsDMRTA8RcC5/I0ji9U7jNEDorDoV8lR+GmGxydpFBol3Z38EPooo6RwE0pXbtpEW66oZNYEDW3iqZ1c8h/yBDeD14IQCz2DxOcG7NGwgSsAci7Ox0mcpIUq6ujk1Sw2o+WOxC1wCzD/CKTI6d2JBb6hBUVN7V7fUGdg9irFGweAotZKImcJ25+n6EuQU5bxWbud3JgoabjqSfL+V1v/82CWlaKs3FgM8vGVHx48tQ2PdSfcLaNHFrOlUHK5NAlnhhQtIXIUcJWQ6RUQN2X13qA5Jrzx1mACLFY23e87L6yoVafpmIyuH3ehN7yPewO8wcQi8VisR/6At7JUbLkWRJQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"Nanjing University of Finance and Economics\",\"correspondingAuthor\":true,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Dandan\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"DONG\",\"suffix\":\"\"}],\"badges\":[],\"createdAt\":\"2025-04-22 16:38:16\",\"currentVersionCode\":1,\"declarations\":\"\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6506207/v1\",\"doiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6506207/v1\",\"draftVersion\":[],\"editorialEvents\":[],\"editorialNote\":\"\",\"failedWorkflow\":false,\"files\":[{\"id\":84569309,\"identity\":\"0d528da1-84a8-4134-a8da-4ed0b1c2d2e9\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2025-06-13 15:01:18\",\"extension\":\"pdf\",\"order_by\":0,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"manuscript-pdf\",\"size\":841298,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"manuscript.pdf\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6506207/v1/a9b4de23-17f1-4aac-8839-26694bb344a9.pdf\"}],\"financialInterests\":\"No competing interests reported.\",\"formattedTitle\":\"The Gradual Hybridization of Belonging: A Qualitative Study of Chinese Migrants in Geneva\",\"fulltext\":[{\"header\":\"Introduction\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eBelonging is a fundamental yet complex aspect of migration research, shaping how individuals reposition themselves across multiple social, cultural, and spatial contexts (Albert, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR3\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e; Afonso et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR2\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2023\\u003c/span\\u003e). While studies based on traditional migration theories generally framed belonging through assimilation or dual affiliation to home and host countries (Dusi et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR22\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2015\\u003c/span\\u003e; Klingenberg et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR35\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e; Hansen and Olsen, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR28\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2023\\u003c/span\\u003e; Drouhot, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR21\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2024\\u003c/span\\u003e), more recent scholarship highlights its fluid, hybrid, and dynamic nature (Komisarof, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR36\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e; Anoosh and Thorpe, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR4\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2023\\u003c/span\\u003e; Spaaij et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR55\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2023\\u003c/span\\u003e; \\u0026Ouml;z\\u0026ccedil;\\u0026uuml;r\\u0026uuml;mez and S\\u0026ouml;nmez Gioftsios, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR46\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2025\\u003c/span\\u003e)\\u0026mdash;particularly in transnational and digital contexts (Afonso et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR2\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2023\\u003c/span\\u003e). With the widespread adoption of ICTs, migrants increasingly navigate and negotiate belonging across both digital and physical spaces. However, existing research tends to treat digital connectivity either as a tool for sustaining transnational ties (Brandhorst et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR10\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2020\\u003c/span\\u003e; Hjorth, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR30\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2022\\u003c/span\\u003e; Abel et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR1\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e) or as a means of integrating into host societies (Wilding and Winarnita, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR63\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2022\\u003c/span\\u003e; Candidatu and Ponzanesi, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR13\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2022\\u003c/span\\u003e), often overlooking how these interactions shape an emergent, hybrid form of belonging that unfolds over time.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThis study examines how Chinese migrants in Geneva use ICTs to construct a sense of belonging that transcends binary models of home and host society, and analyzes how digital interactions shape the layered and evolving nature of migrant belonging. Building on Michel de Certeau\\u0026rsquo;s theory of everyday life practices (De Certeau and Rendall, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR19\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2011\\u003c/span\\u003e[1988]), this study conceptualizes ICT use as a key site of boundary negotiation, spatial reconfiguration, and identity work. Besides, Geneva provides a networked society case due to its status as a globalized, multilingual city (Meyer, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR44\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2013\\u003c/span\\u003e; Cattacin and Kettenacker, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR15\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2011\\u003c/span\\u003e) with a diverse Chinese migrant community, ranging from expatriates in international organizations to small business owners and students. Unlike previous studies that primarily examine well-established Chinese diaspora groups (Krause and Li, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR37\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2020\\u003c/span\\u003e; Liu and Gallois, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR39\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e), this research considers how ICTs mediate the experiences of both recent and long-term ordinary migrants, capturing the evolving nature of their social integration and identity formation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eUsing a qualitative methods approach\\u0026mdash;including oral histories, in-depth interviews, digital trace analysis, and participant observation while taking questionaries as pre-text\\u0026mdash;this study investigates how migrants\\u0026rsquo; digital and physical practices converge in their daily lives. It focuses on how these practices shape migrants\\u0026rsquo; sense of belonging through perceptions of living conditions, boundary work, experiences, and projections. By foregrounding the continuous, temporal, and hybrid evolution of migrant belonging, this study highlights the integration of material-digital practices that extend beyond conventional social media analyses to include a broader spectrum of everyday activities. This approach not only enriches the understanding of digital practices as socio-cultural phenomena, but also offers a micro view of how migrants negotiate belonging in their daily lives. Collectively, this research contributes to reconceptualizing belonging as an evolving, hybrid, and digitally mediated process, offering a more nuanced framework for understanding well-being construction in the context of contemporary migration.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003c/div\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"The Turn of Conceptual Framework\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eSociological and communication research has developed a range of perspectives on how migrants experience and negotiate belonging. Empirical studies grounded in social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR58\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2001\\u003c/span\\u003e[1979]) demonstrate that migrants\\u0026rsquo; well-being and integration often depend on their ability to affiliate with valued social groups (Wang and Giovanis, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR61\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2024\\u003c/span\\u003e), such as national or local communities, and to be perceived as insiders (Jetten et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR33\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2018\\u003c/span\\u003e; Welsch et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR62\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e). Meanwhile, symbolic interactionist research highlights the importance of everyday encounters and meaning-making processes (Phinney et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR48\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2001\\u003c/span\\u003e), showing how migrants construct belonging through social interactions that affirm or challenge their sense of self (Graham-Brown, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR27\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2022\\u003c/span\\u003e; Pl\\u0026ouml;ger and Kubiak, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR49\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2019\\u003c/span\\u003e; Sandu, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR52\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2013\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eBeyond these interpersonal and identity-centered frameworks, empirical studies based on transnationalism (Levitt and Schiller, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR38\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2004\\u003c/span\\u003e) and cultural hybridity (Bhabha, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR6\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2012\\u003c/span\\u003e[1994]; Anthias, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR5\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2001\\u003c/span\\u003e) have shown how migrants simultaneously engage with multiple cultural reference points and social fields across national borders, often cultivating hybrid identities that resist neat classifications of assimilation or cultural retention (Pries, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR50\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2004\\u003c/span\\u003e; Wong, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR64\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2008\\u003c/span\\u003e; Boccagni, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR7\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2012\\u003c/span\\u003e; Valgardsson and Nardon, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR60\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2025\\u003c/span\\u003e; Boland, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR8\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2020\\u003c/span\\u003e). These approaches have been particularly influential in understanding how globalization and cross-border mobility complicate traditional notions of national belonging, and collectively underscored a shift from dichotomous models of assimilation or separation to a more nuanced view of belonging as dynamic, multifaceted, and relational.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eHowever, while these studies have indirectly shed light on migrants\\u0026rsquo; sense of belonging through analyses of identity formation, emotional ties, and transnational networks, they have primarily focused on the structural and symbolic dimensions of belonging. As a result, the embodied, material, and processual aspects\\u0026mdash;how migrants actively perform, negotiate, and remake belonging in the course of everyday life\\u0026mdash;remain underexplored. In this context, Michel de Certeau\\u0026rsquo;s theory of everyday practices, particularly his concepts of \\u003cem\\u003etactics\\u003c/em\\u003e and \\u003cem\\u003espatial practices\\u003c/em\\u003e (De Certeau and Rendall, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR19\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2011\\u003c/span\\u003e[1988]; Highmore, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR29\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2006\\u003c/span\\u003e), offers a valuable lens for understanding how migrants adapt to and re-signify their surroundings through mundane actions in public space. This perspective is especially relevant in light of the growing role of ICTs, which increasingly mediate these everyday practices and contribute to the emergent, hybrid nature of migrant belonging across both digital and physical domains.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003cb\\u003eRQ1: How does Michel de Certeau\\u0026rsquo;s theory of everyday practices enhance our understanding of the formation of hybrid belonging among migrants?\\u003c/b\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec3\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003eICTs, Everyday Life Practices, and the Chinese Migrant Experience\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eWhile earlier research has richly conceptualized migrant belonging in terms of identity, social structure, and cultural hybridity, digital technologies have introduced new dimensions that remain comparatively underexamined. Existing studies on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have primarily emphasized their role in maintaining transnational ties\\u0026mdash;such as real-time contact with family(Şeny\\u0026uuml;rekli and Detzner, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR54\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2009\\u003c/span\\u003e; Calvo et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR12\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2024\\u003c/span\\u003e; Mendivil-Aguayo et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR43\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2024\\u003c/span\\u003e), participation in cultural rituals (Nguyễn et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR45\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2024\\u003c/span\\u003e; Gamba and Cattacin, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR26\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e), or access to native-language media (Elias and Abdulaev, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR23\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2022\\u003c/span\\u003e; Sun and Yu, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR57\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2022\\u003c/span\\u003e; Huang and Miao, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR32\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e; Zhao, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR67\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e). These practices foster emotional continuity and ethnic cohesion, particularly among Chinese migrants who engage platforms like WeChat to sustain symbolic and practical connections with their homeland. However, scholars have also raised concerns that overreliance on intra-ethnic digital networks can lead to reduced interaction with the host society (Croucher et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR18\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2019\\u003c/span\\u003e) and limit exposure to diverse social environments (Forbush and Foucault-Welles, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR25\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2016\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eWhat remains insufficiently explored is how ICTs do not merely reproduce transnational connections but also act as tools of everyday cultural practice within local contexts. A small but growing body of empirical research has begun to investigate how digital engagement shapes migrants\\u0026rsquo; sense of place and participation in host communities (Marino, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR41\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2015\\u003c/span\\u003e; Ratnam et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR51\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2024\\u003c/span\\u003e; Kim and Kim, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR34\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e). These insights suggest that digital and physical practices are deeply interwoven, and that migrants\\u0026rsquo; use of ICTs may serve as a bridge\\u0026mdash;rather than a barrier\\u0026mdash;between ethnic cohesion and local integration. Yet, few studies have examined how this interplay unfolds in the everyday lives of migrants, particularly in relation to Chinese immigrants in European urban settings.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003cb\\u003eRQ2: How do ICTs, as tools of cultural practice, intervene in and shape the process of constructing a sense of belonging among Chinese migrants in Geneva?\\u003c/b\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \"},{\"header\":\"Methodology\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003e This study adopts a qualitative methods approach combining oral histories, in-depth interviews, digital trace analysis, and participant observation, while take questionnaires as pre-text. While the core of the research is qualitative\\u0026mdash;centering on in-depth interviews\\u0026mdash;the initial phase employed a multilingual questionnaire developed through the A UNIC\\u003csup\\u003e1\\u003c/sup\\u003e project, which was translated from French into both Chinese and English\\u003csup\\u003e2\\u003c/sup\\u003e. The questionnaire was distributed to Chinese migrants living in Geneva and served primarily as a means to build trust and facilitate contact for subsequent interviews. It also yielded some valuable preliminary data and helped identify additional participants, with particular attention to diversifying the sample along key demographic dimensions.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eTo balance representativeness and typicality, the sample was composed to reflect variation in nationality, gender,\\u003csup\\u003e3\\u003c/sup\\u003e age, occupation, and length of stay in Geneva (see Table\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Tab1\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e1\\u003c/span\\u003e). In terms of inclusion criteria, interviewees had to have lived in Geneva for at least one year and not been born there. Their length of residence ranged from one to 24 years. Three participants were naturalized citizens of Switzerland and provided insights on longer life stories related to Chinese migration to Geneva.\\u003csup\\u003e4\\u003c/sup\\u003e All participants were adults and still lived in Geneva.\\u003csup\\u003e5\\u003c/sup\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003cdiv class=\\\"gridtable\\\"\\u003e\\u003ctable float=\\\"Yes\\\" id=\\\"Tab1\\\" border=\\\"1\\\"\\u003e \\u003ccaption language=\\\"En\\\"\\u003e \\u003cdiv class=\\\"CaptionNumber\\\"\\u003eTable 1\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv class=\\\"CaptionContent\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe Demographic Summary of Participants\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003c/caption\\u003e \\u003ccolgroup cols=\\\"2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cdiv align=\\\"left\\\" class=\\\"colspec\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\" colnum=\\\"1\\\"\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv align=\\\"left\\\" class=\\\"colspec\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\" colnum=\\\"2\\\"\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cthead\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003cth align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIndex\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/th\\u003e \\u003cth align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eFeatures\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/th\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003c/thead\\u003e \\u003ctbody\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eNationality\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e32 migrants of Chinese origin, two Japanese Chinese, one French Chinese, one Malaysian Chinese, and one Brazilian Chinese\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eGender\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e12 male migrants and 25 female migrants\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eAge\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eAverage age is about 33 years old\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eOccupation\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eNine types\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eLength of stay in Geneva\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eAverage length is about 4 years\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003c/tbody\\u003e \\u003c/colgroup\\u003e \\u003c/table\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn total, 34 migration stories were collected\\u003csup\\u003e6\\u003c/sup\\u003e from new Chinese migrants (referred to as \\u003cem\\u003enewcomers\\u003c/em\\u003e in this article), and three oral histories of Chinese migration in Geneva were collected from longer-term Chinese migrants (referred to as \\u003cem\\u003eoldcomers\\u003c/em\\u003e\\u003csup\\u003e7\\u003c/sup\\u003e in this article). All data were collected through semi-structured interviews. In addition, the study examined new migrants\\u0026rsquo; stories about their daily media use, especially on the Chinese messaging app WeChat (e.g., frequency, main purpose, length of use, and type of contact)(Chen, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR16\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e), and experiences with digital community participation. These interviews were complemented by the analysis of digital traces, including these interviewers\\u0026rsquo; public WeChat and Instagram posts and three online groups\\u0026rsquo; content related to themes of belonging.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eAll textual materials\\u0026mdash;including interview transcripts, oral histories, and digital content\\u0026mdash;were coded (Bryant and Charmaz, 2010[2007]). The analysis was structured around three core categories: migratory career, everyday media practices, and sense of belonging. Within these, the coding encompassed four categories: diachronic changes in social identity, subjective perceptions of success and failure, changing legal and economic status, and time.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eFinally, it is useful to briefly consider my reflexivity as a researcher {Goundar, 2025 #522}. As a Chinese migrant who also lives in Geneva, I was welcomed by Chinese migrants and various online media groups as an \\u0026ldquo;insider.\\u0026rdquo; In this context, the term \\u0026ldquo;insider\\u0026rdquo; refers to an individual who shares the beliefs, sentiments, and struggles of other Chinese migrants in Geneva. In addition, an insider speaks Mandarin, shares and understands behaviors, and \\u0026ldquo;gets\\u0026rdquo; the living reality of belonging-related issues in both Geneva and China. This shared understanding was key for establishing connections during the recruitment process and building trust permitting me to enter eight online Chinese WeChat groups in Geneva. Furthermore, as a young researcher who was educated at an institution in Geneva and eager to learn about \\u0026ldquo;local\\u0026rdquo; Chinese experiences of belonging, I was able to have relatively equal exchanges with the participants, many of whom were older and more experienced than me despite not having \\u0026ldquo;expertise\\u0026rdquo; in migration. On the other hand, my perceived social status as a researcher and an \\u0026ldquo;intellectual\\u0026rdquo; may have led interviewees to try to pander to my questions during the interviews. To address this bias, I tried to only use information that was repeated by different respondents during the interviews.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003ch3\\u003eThe Migratory Careers of Chinese Migrants in Geneva\\u003c/h3\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe migratory paths of interviewees were non-linear and multi-directional, which can be captured through the concept of a \\u003cem\\u003emigratory career\\u003c/em\\u003e (Di Martino et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR20\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2020\\u003c/span\\u003e). The latter emphasizes the experiences of individuals and communities and puts into perspective ancient conceptual tools. It views the process of migration as the continuous abandonment of ties to one\\u0026rsquo;s origins; examples include assimilation, integration, or incorporation, which are most commonly used in traditional sociological approaches to migration (Park, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR47\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e1928\\u003c/span\\u003e; Hoffmann-Nowotny, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR31\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e1970\\u003c/span\\u003e). However, these traditional concepts do not capture the different types of migratory careers identified among Chinese interviewees in Geneva.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eExisting broad typological descriptions of Chinese migrants in Switzerland divide migratory careers according to time. Chinese migration to Switzerland can be separated into five stages according to arrival period: before 1949, during the 1960s, from the 1960s to the 1970s, during the late 1970s, and from the mid-1990s to the present (Spickard, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR56\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2013\\u003c/span\\u003e). This typology enables periods of migration to be described. Regarding patterns of migration during these periods, it can be observed that, migrants have been characterized by their class affiliation (i.e., given the general situation in Europe, richer Chinese people migrate to Switzerland, while poorer Chinese people migrate to other countries) and pursuit of education, which varied in terms of received and searched education (Spickard, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR56\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2013\\u003c/span\\u003e). To further refine this typology and describe differences between Chinese migrants in Geneva in greater detail, I used four dimensions related to the concept of migratory career: diachronic changes in social identity, subjective perceptions of success, changing legal and economic status, and time (Martiniello and Rea, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR42\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2014\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003ch3\\u003eDiachronic changes in social identity\\u003c/h3\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eAfter at least one year of living in Geneva, all participants observed a discrepancy between their initial expectations and actual experiences as migrants. Some of the interviewees moved to Geneva for love or family (Mai and King, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR40\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2009\\u003c/span\\u003e), while others migrated to pursue studies, work, or material wealth. Moreover, economic status played a very important role in participants\\u0026rsquo; self-identification. Most respondents said that they strove to lead a decent life and that their economic situation had improved. However, a minority expressed that their economic situation has considerably deteriorated. In addition, some of the interviewed students said that they had no sense of economic status. The common denominator was that most respondents had undergone a difficult period in terms of social and economic concerns when they tried to find their place \\u0026ndash; their place in a stable figuration \\u0026ndash; in Geneva.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eOne interviewee (Tian Yuan\\u003csup\\u003e8\\u003c/sup\\u003e, aged 60, has lived in Geneva for seven years) said that she perceived her status as middle class in Switzerland but higher class in China. She originally moved to Geneva for love and to reunite with family, but she experienced her husband\\u0026rsquo;s betrayal and family changes within a few years of arrival.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe advantages that she had previously had in China disappeared when she migrated to Geneva, and her social life, personal identity, and dignity were drastically affected. Instead of searching offline contacts in Geneva, the participant sought digital \\u003cem\\u003espaces of interrelatedness\\u003c/em\\u003e via social media\\u003csup\\u003e9\\u003c/sup\\u003e to make friends from other countries, especially on WhatsApp and Messenger. She also relied on Chinese social media with tactics of self-representation (self-dramaturgical performances in \\u0026ldquo;WeChat Moments\\u0026rdquo;) to find the psychological comfort of belonging via online recognitions.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eAll in all, Migrants\\u0026rsquo; initial identity expectations often clash with local realities, compelling them to compensate through online symbolic actions and to reconstruct their social networks across cultural margins. Over time, their original Chinese identity capital becomes ineffective within the Swiss context, leading to gradual fragmented belonging.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003ch3\\u003eSubjective perceptions of success\\u003c/h3\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eFor migrants, the \\u0026ldquo;success\\u0026rdquo; of a migration career might not be clear because they usually have multiple goals at the beginning of migration. By exploring their perception construction, it is possible to identify the media tactics that migrants use and the importance of media in their everyday lives. Studying their perceptions through the lens of migration career focuses on the entire migration process rather than a specific stage, which is exactly a figuration practice. An old Chinese proverb accurately describes the uniqueness and appeal of subjective success research: \\u0026ldquo;One man\\u0026rsquo;s arsenic is another man\\u0026rsquo;s honey.\\u0026rdquo; That is, failure for some people but not for others. In the traditional Chinese understanding of success and failure, these concepts are often related to social status, prestige, resources, and wealth (Fan and Karnilowicz, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR24\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e1997\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e During the interviews, we found that participants gradually became comfortable with the status quo in Geneva. The new internet buzzword \\u0026ldquo;Buddha\\u0026rdquo;, which refers to a life attitude that pursues inner peace rather than traditional Chinese fighting spirits, appeared in the Chinese circles in Geneva. Most of the Chinese migrants in Geneva gradually pretended to \\u0026ldquo;strive to love nature and sports like the Swiss,\\u0026rdquo; written on WeChat Moments by a newcomer to Geneva (Xiang Ma, aged 25, has lived in Geneva for one year). This representation of Swiss habits in Chinese migrants\\u0026rsquo; minds is part of a media tactic of resistance (when it is told to others). Regarding subjective perceptions of success and failure, all interviewees reported a sense of failure, whether it was related to finances, family life, or their studies; this was very different from what they had imagined before migration. However, they also said that they were satisfied with their lives:\\u003cdiv class=\\\"BlockQuote\\\"\\u003e\\u003cp\\u003eAlthough there are a lot of bad things here, I am still relatively satisfied. I don\\u0026rsquo;t feel much pressure, although life is a bit boring. Friends in China think that I have a good life here, so I feel a slight sense of success. So that\\u0026rsquo;s enough for me. (Jiao Huang, aged 36, has lived in Geneva for two to three years)\\u003c/p\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eWith the help of ICTs, Chinese migrants in Geneva, such as Xiang Ma and Jiao Huang, display their lives on Chinese social platforms. They try to show the positive side of their lives as much as possible and choose to hide their pain in the black box of media. Through various tactics, this everyday media practice leads to the desired result: the migrants\\u0026rsquo; domestic circles of relatives and friends imagine that they have a wealthy and easy life in Geneva. This helps migrants gain a subjective sense of success. From another perspective, this also accelerates their personal adaptation to Geneva; in turn, they further develop a subjective sense of success from adapting to everyday life practices in Geneva.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThat\\u0026rsquo;s to say, the definition of \\u0026ldquo;success\\u0026rdquo; shifts from material accumulation to a contradictory amalgam: outwardly performing a Swiss naturalistic lifestyle while inwardly conceding to economic stagnation and cultural isolation. This lifestyle transforms feelings of failure into alternative success (envied by relatives and friends in China) through selectively visible media tactics, forming a cognitive dissonance in layers of belonging\\u0026mdash;simultaneously satisfying local existence and maintaining a transnational face.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cdiv id=\\\"Sec8\\\" class=\\\"Section2\\\"\\u003e \\u003ch2\\u003eChanges in migrants\\u0026rsquo; legal and economic status\\u003c/h2\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThese influence migrants\\u0026rsquo; social reality by defining their position in their new place of residence. Most participants said that they did not pay attention to local news and did not trust local political parties and churches due to the negative perceptions of these arenas in China\\u0026rsquo;s social atmosphere, especially its media environment. Most of them were also unwilling to participate in local political activities. One interviewee who did not speak French believed that his \\u0026ldquo;[knowledge in all aspects] was not as good as the locals of Geneva\\u0026rdquo; (Hui Wang, aged 35, has lived in Geneva for seven years). By contrast, 35-year-old Xi Sun, who has lived in Geneva for five years, said that he \\u0026ldquo;has many friends from different industries, and the people of Geneva are very trustworthy.\\u0026rdquo; However, most participants were imperceptibly affected by the social environment of Geneva and no longer afraid to change jobs compared to living in China. In Chinese society, \\u0026ldquo;success in stability\\u0026rdquo; is a traditional idea, and stability is the most important factor in the job-hunting process for most Chinese people. In fact, the main factors that affected migrants\\u0026rsquo; self-perception of their status were language, degree of initiative, and traditional Chinese ideas about stability.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn general, legal status and economic capital create structural thresholds that determine migrants\\u0026rsquo; mixed permissions. Lower-tier migrants cling to a singular cultural belonging; middle-class migrants have a chance to use their resources to navigate institutional barriers, practicing freer hybrid strategies that highlight the uneven nature of mixing.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e\\n\\u003ch3\\u003eTime\\u003c/h3\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eAs time passes, migrants reassess their life plans and goals based on their experiences, especially the changing figurations molded by communicative practices (although the timing of these changes is not uniform). Some of the interviewees planned to return to China. Others previously thought of returning to China but decided not to for family reasons. Some first moved to Geneva alone for work, then tried to have their children follow to study. Some were unwilling to return to China without having a success story to tell; alternatively, they plan to move to other East Asian countries such as Japan. However, one commonality is that all participants used WeChat, Weibo, and other Chinese social media platforms to monitor development, festivals, and major ceremonies in China, but also to explore life-changing trajectories and various possibilities to continue their migration career.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eOver time, migrants develop a nuanced flexibility in their sense of belonging. Time gradually erodes their initial goals, urging them to cultivate a third space of belonging that transcends traditional dichotomies. Through mediated dual temporality\\u0026mdash;synchronizing with Chinese festivals and participating in local Swiss practices\\u0026mdash;migrants evolve their understanding of belonging from a rigid binary choice to a dynamic, ongoing process of hybridization. Consequently, they no longer fixate on a singular outcome (such as permanent residency in Switzerland or a triumphant return to China). Instead, through media tactics, they engage in continuous hybridization, adeptly navigating and blending various cultural affiliations and identities without fully committing to any single narrative or locale. This dynamic interplay highlights the fluid and complex nature of migrant senses of belonging.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eOverall, Chinese migrants in Geneva craft their spaces of belonging through a process of gradual, tactical, and uneven hybridization. Characterized by main shifts in social identity, legal-economic status, and variable perceptions of success, their migratory Careers challenge conventional assimilation and dual-affiliation models, delineating a landscape where belonging is an evolving, embodied, and mediated construct. This emergent form of hybrid belonging materializes within the structural fissures of societal norms, where it is continually shaped by the strategic utilization of digital platforms such as WeChat. These platforms transcend their functional role as mere communicative tools, becoming pivotal in the tactical orchestration of self-representation, affective regulation, and boundary negotiation.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn this complex interplay of media use, socio-economic adaptation, and individual agency, ICTs are reenvisioned as essential cultural practices. These technologies enable migrants to navigate the precarious terrains of identity amid structural constraints defined by legal parameters, class dynamics, and the available cultural capital. As such, the process of hybrid belonging does not merely unfold but is actively engineered through migrants\\u0026rsquo; interactions with both digital and physical realms, reflecting a dynamic negotiation of space and identity that is contingent on the continual reevaluation of personal and collective narratives.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThis nuanced understanding underscores that hybrid belonging is not a static state but a fluid, ongoing negotiation\\u0026mdash;a powerful testament to the resilience and ingenuity of migrants as they tactically engage with and transform their environments to accommodate diverse cultural influences and personal aspirations.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003ch3\\u003eEveryday Tactics and Figurations of Hybrid Belonging\\u003c/h3\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe migratory career framework highlights the structural preconditions that shape Chinese migrants\\u0026rsquo; ability to hybridize belonging, and elucidates why hybridity is a gradual process. However, the true embodiment and formation of this belonging are realized through everyday practices. Each figuration merges structural influences with personal agency, demonstrating how belonging is dynamically shaped.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eRegardless of migration forms and origins, most migrants maintain ties to their previous places of residence (Booth et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR9\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2016\\u003c/span\\u003e[1997]) and relationships with their country of origin. This bond is embodied not only in everyday practices but also related to personal aspects, such as search of information about China, the use of Mandarin, preferences in taste, or links to Chinese economic associations and activities. Chinese migrants in Geneva are not isolated from their relatives in China. They are skilled to use social media and keep contact with their family members in their region or city of origin, even if most of them cannot move to Geneva with them, especially in the first few years of migration.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, most Chinese migrants in Geneva would use their vacation time to visit relatives (e.g., parents, wives, husbands, children, etc.) in their hometowns (Xu et al., \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR66\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2007\\u003c/span\\u003e), especially for festivals such as the Spring Festival. Alternatively, their family members would fly to Geneva after retirement or for holidays. Notably, whenever this happened, the participants uniformly told their parents that they were living well. This reflects the widespread practice of \\u0026ldquo;reporting the good news but not the bad news\\u0026rdquo; among Chinese people, especially regarding children\\u0026rsquo;s education. For example, a 49-year-old participant Wan Tao who has lived in Geneva for two years said, \\u0026ldquo;I don\\u0026rsquo;t want my elderly mother to worry about me at home.\\u0026rdquo;\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eTwo female interviewees (Zhao Xiang, aged 34, has lived in Geneva for eight years; Tian Yuan, aged 60, has lived in Geneva for seven years) had similar migratory careers. They first moved to Geneva for work and left their 1-year-old daughters in China in the care of their mothers. After their careers gradually improved, they asked their mothers to send their children to Geneva when they were approximately 3 years old to attend private schools. However, around one year later, the two participants found that they did not have the energy to take care of their children. As a result, they asked their mothers to fly to Geneva and take the children back to China (this phenomenon is called \\u0026ldquo;flying grandmas\\u0026rdquo;; (Xie and Xia, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR65\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2011\\u003c/span\\u003e) (Tosta, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR59\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2016\\u003c/span\\u003e). Moreover, because of this experience, both children could speak English and French well; however, they could only speak Chinese, not read, or write Chinese characters.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eHowever, many countries have tightened their entry policies due to COVID-19, and the Swiss government has limited access to tourist visas over different periods. Thus, this former offline experience of keeping contacts by vacations and visits is interrupted. Consequently, a practice of translocal online relations based on social media (especially Chinese own ICTs such as WeChat and Weibo) play an unprecedentedly important function: the construction of a new communicative and networking hybrid space of reunion (Ciobanu, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR17\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2020\\u003c/span\\u003e). The most obvious impact of this habit is they continue to maintain close links with China in different new media spaces; for example, they spontaneously obtain online information to have a common topic to chat about with loved ones and achieve emotional maintenance. This is a side effect of their everyday media practice tactics, which is also a new mode in the processes of the interweaving of link-keeping.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn terms of knowledge acquisition, Chinese migrants in Geneva passively participated in discussions about China but did not grasp all current affairs. Even if the acquisition of certain information was out of touch with the Chinese polymedia environment as the length of residence in Geneva increased, they still obtain the latest information from China from another important source: newcomers to Geneva, who arrive in a constant stream. Typically, they would first communicate with each other via a WeChat group, then meet in person after the newcomer arrived in Geneva. They were willing to share information from all aspects except individual affairs with and help each other.\\u003csup\\u003e10\\u003c/sup\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eWhen Chinese migrants in Geneva started a family, most of their children learned four languages from an early age: Chinese, French, German, and English. Usually, the participants took the initiative to teach their children Chinese, mostly to allow them to communicate with relatives in China through WeChat or FaceTime. Another aspect of the language connection with China is that, combined with their appearance, Chinese migrants can be identified more quickly in Geneva. One participant shared the following story:\\u003cdiv class=\\\"BlockQuote\\\"\\u003e\\u003cp\\u003eIt was in a Migros supermarket. I thought she looked like Chinese and I just walked to her and said a word in Chinese. Unexpectedly, she answered me in Chinese immediately\\u0026hellip; It feels like Chinese is like a secret sign [in Geneva] \\u0026hellip; Then we added each other\\u0026rsquo;s WeChat numbers and made appointments later through WeChat. (Kuo Ge, aged 40, has lived in Geneva for four years)\\u003c/p\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThus, Chinese migrants in Geneva sometimes established initial links through language and appearance, then nodding acquaintances gradually developed into friends with the help of Chinese online social media. This seems to have become a routine among Chinese migrant groups.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn terms of life habits, Chinese migrants in Geneva have distinctive characteristics. Although most of them will try other European cuisines out of curiosity, they mostly organize gatherings with friends at Chinese restaurants, including but not limited to bringing non-Chinese friends, meeting with new Chinese friends, and having family reunion dinners over Lunar New Year. Thus, patronizing Chinese restaurants enables migrants to engage in vital rituals, which foster their belonging in both China and Geneva. Regardless of the space that Chinese migrants are in (e.g., Chinese restaurants in Geneva) or the practices that they perform (e.g., the public celebration of Chinese festivals in Geneva), rituals strengthen a sense of hybrid belonging, to a certain extent. They not only emphasize that the subject is part of Geneva but also that they have not forgotten their identification as a Chinese person.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eNotably, this kind of celebration ritual is often accompanied by posts on social media. They express Chinese migrants\\u0026rsquo; sense of belonging or homesickness via online pictures and text, while WeChat\\u0026rsquo;s location is positioned in Geneva. In the process of content creation, memories are not only synchronously generated (Gamba and Cattacin, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR26\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e) but also stored and disseminated in public space. In addition, all interviewees consistently cherished Geneva\\u0026rsquo;s festivals. Some described their favorite festivals and their history when asked the simple question \\u0026ldquo;what\\u0026rsquo;s your favorite Geneva festival.\\u0026rdquo; Most of them expressed sorrow about not being able to participate in Genevan or Swiss festivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not only because of the pleasure to participate in these events. Hence, they also lost the possibility to communicate to friends and family in China and via social media (in particular WeChat Moments) the vivid lives that they (apparently) lead in Geneva. Moreover, they could not engage in vital practices aimed at coexistence and the production of mixed spatial practice that connects the local to the global through social media (Gamba and Cattacin, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR26\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2021\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn addition to everyday routines or special rituals based on previous habits or traditions, Chinese meals cooked by newcomers are also a product of hybrid belonging (Schirato, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR53\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e1993\\u003c/span\\u003e). Typically, the participants followed online recipes but adapted them to available products in Geneva:\\u003cdiv class=\\\"BlockQuote\\\"\\u003e\\u003cp\\u003eSometimes when I pass by some places, I smell the tastes that can\\u0026rsquo;t be described even though they are different. I know that there must be Chinese people living in this place. There are so many Chinese recipes in China that every Chinese here will cook at least one or two special Chinese dishes, which taste like home. (Yuan Zhu, aged 30, has lived in Geneva for five years)\\u003c/p\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eAs Yuan Zhu indicated, nearly every Chinese migrant in Geneva has their own specialty regarding Chinese cuisines. However, this does not mean that they were proficient at cooking before moving to Geneva. On the contrary, most Chinese migrants, especially newcomers, rarely cooked before moving to Geneva because of the intense pace of everyday life and extremely convenient takeout system in China. In Geneva, most of them learn to cook. Even Chinese students who had never cooked before leaving China use media platforms and Chinese kitchen apps. For example, many downloaded kitchen apps, Weibo, TikTok, or YouTube, then followed videos or text tutorials on these platforms to learn how to cut vegetables, adjust spices, stir fry, steam vegetables, make a hot pot, and more. In the meantime, not only did Geneva have countless kebabs, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, and Italian restaurants but also the most authentic Chinese restaurants in Switzerland (i.e., those closest to Chinese tastes). Represented cuisines include Hunan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Sichuan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. One participant said the following:\\u003cdiv class=\\\"BlockQuote\\\"\\u003e\\u003cp\\u003eIn fact, we all know in our hearts that even the \\u0026ldquo;most authentic\\u0026rdquo; Chinese restaurant in Geneva must have undergone some localization improvements, and it no longer represents pure Chinese taste. However, I\\u0026rsquo;ve been away from China for so long. I couldn\\u0026rsquo;t remember exactly what Chinese food tastes like. However, every time I saw my classmates in China share their dinner pictures in online Moments, I seemed to remember it again. (Meng Wei, aged 27, has lived in Geneva for two years)\\u003c/p\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe above quotation highlights the fuzzy process of belonging. That is, Chinese meals in Geneva comprise the material substrate (Casemajor, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR14\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2015\\u003c/span\\u003e) that moves and limits the flow of at least two senses of belonging. At the beginning of this figuration of belonging, the making of Chinese dishes was an everyday media practice motivated by Chinese migrants\\u0026rsquo; homesickness. Newcomers tried to learn specific cooking methods on different social media platforms (e.g., WeChat, Weibo, and Instagram), video websites (e.g., YouTube), and cooking apps. Within this process of figuration practices, the sense of belonging to China occupies an absolute position. However, since the main process of creation of dishes takes place in Geneva and basic ingredients are not accessible some specific steps or concepts will be transformed, adapted, in a certain way, to what can be found in Geneva. The everyday, mediated and hybrid practice, create dishes that indicated migrants\\u0026rsquo; belonging to China and Geneva (and in some cases, to a specific migration career mixing cooking experiences in cities migrants lived during their life). Thus, as time went by, an individual\\u0026rsquo;s concrete memory gradually became mixed, blurred, and abstracted due to the complexities of their migratory career. During this process, the intervention of online media is critical. They strengthened migrants\\u0026rsquo; sense of belonging to China, although they may not have weakened their sense of belonging to Geneva and other places.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn summary, Chinese migrants in Geneva have an inseparable connection with China (especially to their places of origin) emotionally and physically. Regardless of whether this connection manifests as a flow of information, a language, or eating habits and holiday rituals, it persists in the face of external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and affects members of the second or even third generation. As length of residence increases, this effect quickly subsides within a short period but does not entirely disappear.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eNevertheless, the existence of media practices is central in the process of figuration of senses of belonging. When Chinese migrants maintain links with their places of origin in China through media tactics, their sense of belonging is also repeatedly subjected to an ongoing and undirected, random process of dispersion and reorganization. Within this dynamic process created by their whole selves, the gradual hybridization of belonging of at least China and Geneva silently occurs (see Table\\u0026nbsp;\\u003cspan refid=\\\"Tab1\\\" class=\\\"InternalRef\\\"\\u003e1\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e \\u003cdiv class=\\\"gridtable\\\"\\u003e\\u003ctable float=\\\"Yes\\\" id=\\\"Tab2\\\" border=\\\"1\\\"\\u003e \\u003ccaption language=\\\"En\\\"\\u003e \\u003cdiv class=\\\"CaptionNumber\\\"\\u003eTable 2\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv class=\\\"CaptionContent\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eFigurations of a hybrid sense of belonging\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003c/caption\\u003e \\u003ccolgroup cols=\\\"4\\\"\\u003e \\u003cdiv align=\\\"left\\\" class=\\\"colspec\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\" colnum=\\\"1\\\"\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv align=\\\"left\\\" class=\\\"colspec\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\" colnum=\\\"2\\\"\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv align=\\\"left\\\" class=\\\"colspec\\\" colname=\\\"c3\\\" colnum=\\\"3\\\"\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cdiv align=\\\"left\\\" class=\\\"colspec\\\" colname=\\\"c4\\\" colnum=\\\"4\\\"\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003cthead\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003cth align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eFragile belongings\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/th\\u003e \\u003cth align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eElements of physical experiences of territorial belonging\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/th\\u003e \\u003cth align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c3\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eElements of hybridization\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/th\\u003e \\u003cth align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c4\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eSymbolic elements (online and offline)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/th\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003c/thead\\u003e \\u003ctbody\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003eTo Geneva\\u003c/b\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eLocal festivities\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c3\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eLocal social media groups (to organize encounters and exchange practical knowledge)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c4\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eReconstruction of hybrid identities (stories of complex identities)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003eTo other places in the individual\\u0026rsquo;s migratory career\\u003c/b\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eMemory (for instance previous job experiences)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c3\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eTranslocal social media groups (friends and colleagues met during the individual\\u0026rsquo;s migratory career\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c4\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eObjects related to and practices learned during the individual\\u0026rsquo;s migration career (e.g., souvenirs and memories)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003ctr\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c1\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cb\\u003eTo the place of origin\\u003c/b\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c2\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eHolidays (annual, ideally)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c3\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eTranslocal social media groups (continuous exchanges with parents)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003ctd align=\\\"left\\\" colname=\\\"c4\\\"\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eObjects and practices reproduced and from the place of origin (e.g., Chinese cooking with local ingredients)\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003c/td\\u003e \\u003c/tr\\u003e \\u003c/tbody\\u003e \\u003c/colgroup\\u003e \\u003c/table\\u003e\\u003c/div\\u003e \\u003c/p\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"Conclusion\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eThis study has illuminated how Chinese migrants in Geneva navigate the complexities of belonging not through straightforward assimilation but via a series of tactical adaptations mediated significantly through ICTs. Central to our findings is how these migrants utilize digital platforms to negotiate, construct, and continually redefine their senses of belonging within a Swiss context\\u0026mdash;an engagement that markedly shifts away from traditional migratory narratives focused on linear transitions.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eThe concept of a migratory career, enriched by the nuances of everyday media practices, provides a robust framework for understanding these dynamics. Migrants\\u0026rsquo; interactions on platforms like WeChat and the use of various apps for culinary exploration underscore how ICTs serve not just as tools for communication but as essential components in the crafting of a hybrid cultural belonging. These digital spaces allow for the preservation of cultural ties while also facilitating the incorporation of new cultural elements, resulting in a dynamic, ongoing process of hybridization.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIt reveals that the construction of belonging is intricately tied to the tactical use of media. The tactical engagement reflects Michel de Certeau\\u0026rsquo;s concept of the \\u0026ldquo;tactics of the weak,\\u0026rdquo; where migrants, positioned within a matrix of legal, social, and economic structures, find agency in their everyday media interactions with time flowing. Through purposeful media tactics, the intervention of information and resulting everyday practices enable Chinese migrants to gradually transform the spaces around them into the Geneva that they want, allowing them to experience hybrid belongings as normality. That is, through different media figurations, every tactic that they used in everyday life played an important role in shaping their mixed sense of belonging. Specially, this paper described four media tactics used by Chinese migrants in Geneva: tactically employ self-presentation, such as by presenting good news but not bad news; weaving transnational information networks; constructing digital communities based on different goals; engaging in technological empowerment. Although Chinese migrants encountered barriers, they gradually learned how and whom to ask for help thanks to WeChat and other social media, and questioning through the everyday increasing personal autonomy their sense of belonging. They know how to make fuller use of it and other ICTs than in the past to maintain social and emotional links to people in China, Geneva, and abroad in the process of media configuration practices \\u0026mdash;their sense of belonging remains fluid and evolving. All these everyday practices are not merely reactive but are formative, enabling migrants to forge a sense of place and identity that is fluid, contested, and continually evolving.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eMoreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role of ICTs in sustaining these hybrid connections when physical mobility was restricted. Digital platforms became not only a means to maintain familial and community ties but also a method to negotiate the challenges of spatial and social isolation. The strategic use of digital media to manage personal and communal narratives during the pandemic underscores the adaptive and resilient nature of migrant communities.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eIn conclusion, the hybridization of belonging among Chinese migrants in Geneva is processually, fragmentedly, and strategically constructed and reconstructed within cross-cultural and digital contexts. It involves an interplay of individual agency, structural conditions, and the mediating role of ICTs, which together shape the ways in which migrants negotiate their identities across cultural and geographic boundaries.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eOverall, this research reconceptualizes belonging as a resilient practice nestled within the interstices of structural elements, emphasizing its non-linear and unfinished nature. It highlights the pivotal role of digital tools in the lives of modern migrants and underscores how seemingly mundane everyday practices become crucial arenas for the construction of belonging. Besides, the research not only analyzes how migrants adapt to the culture of their host country but also explores how they maintain connections with their original and third-party cultures, presenting a multidirectional, interactive process of cultural adaptation. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex processes migrants undergo, and a broader understanding of digital diasporas and the digital transformation of social networks.\\u003c/p\\u003e \\u003cp\\u003eHowever, this study focuses primarily on first-generation Chinese migrants in Geneva, potentially overlooking the digital-native practices of second-generation migrants, such as cultural remixing on TikTok. This limitation restricts the exploration of intergenerational changes in belonging and hybridity among immigrant children, highlighting the need for future research to address these evolving dynamics and experiences of younger, digital-native migrants. Thus, future research should further explore how these media tactics evolve as migrants adjust over longer periods and how second-generation migrants continue to navigate these hybrid identities.\\u003c/p\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"Declarations\",\"content\":\"\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eFunding\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation [grant number 190051].\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eAcknowledgements\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eI would like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Sandro Cattacin for his dedicated support and patient guidance during this research. Furthermore, I would like to thank Prof. Maryl\\u0026egrave;ne Lieber, an expert on Chinese migrants in Switzerland, for her kind and valuable discussions and comments. I am also thankful to all interviewees for their participation and engagement in this study.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eDeclaration of conflicting interest\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe author declares no conflicting interests.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eData availability statement\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eEthical approval\\u0026nbsp;\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe research was conducted during a period when the University of Geneva did not have an ethical commission for social sciences. The project was approved by the Swiss National Science Foundation\\u0026rsquo;s ethical analysis (100019E_190051,\\u0026nbsp;approval date: 1\\u003csup\\u003est\\u003c/sup\\u003e October 2019). In addition, a retrospective ethical approval was granted by the Academic Committee of the School of Marketing and Logistics Management, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics (NUFE20250515, approval date: 15\\u003csup\\u003eth\\u003c/sup\\u003e May 2025). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003e\\u003cstrong\\u003eInformed consent statements\\u003c/strong\\u003e\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eBefore data collection (which took place from 1\\u003csup\\u003est\\u003c/sup\\u003e May 2021 to 1\\u003csup\\u003est\\u003c/sup\\u003e September 2022), all participants were informed of the purpose and scope of the study and how the data would be used. Between 27\\u003csup\\u003eth\\u003c/sup\\u003e February 2021 and 1st May 2021, they all signed the informed consent and agreed to participate in this research, data use, and consent to publish. Moreover, all participants were also assured that their anonymity would be maintained and that no personal or identification information would be disclosed.\\u003c/p\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"References\",\"content\":\"\\u003col\\u003e\\n\\u003cli\\u003eAbel S, Machin T and Brownlow C (2021) Social media, rituals, and long-distance family relationship maintenance: A mixed-methods systematic review. \\u003cem\\u003eNew Media \\u0026amp; Society\\u003c/em\\u003e 23(3): 632-654.\\u003c/li\\u003e\\n\\u003cli\\u003eAfonso JD, Barros S and Albert I (2023) The Sense of Belonging in the Context of Migration: Development and Trajectories Regarding Portuguese Migrants in Luxembourg. \\u003cem\\u003eIntegrative Psychological and Behavioral Science\\u003c/em\\u003e 57(2): 518-546.\\u003c/li\\u003e\\n\\u003cli\\u003eAlbert I (2021) Perceived loneliness and the role of cultural and intergenerational belonging: the case of Portuguese first-generation immigrants in Luxembourg. \\u003cem\\u003eEuropean Journal of Ageing\\u003c/em\\u003e 18(3): 299-310.\\u003c/li\\u003e\\n\\u003cli\\u003eAnoosh S and Thorpe H (2023) Migrant women\\u0026rsquo;s (non) belonging in pandemic times: an intersectional analysis of home/land. \\u003cem\\u003eThe Paradox (es) of Diasporic Identity, Race and Belonging\\u003c/em\\u003e. 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(2007) Chinese family strengths and resiliency. \\u003cem\\u003eMarriage \\u0026amp; family review\\u003c/em\\u003e 41(1-2): 143-164.\\u003c/li\\u003e\\n\\u003cli\\u003eZhao X (2021) Digital labour in transnational mobility: Chinese international students\\u0026rsquo; online boundary work in daigou. \\u003cem\\u003eNew Media \\u0026amp; Society\\u003c/em\\u003e 23(9): 2554-2574.\\u003c/li\\u003e\\n\\u003c/ol\\u003e\"},{\"header\":\"Footnotes\",\"content\":\"\\u003col\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e This research is linked to a larger project called \\u0026ldquo;Unexpected Inclusions: Migration, Mobility and the Open City\\u0026rdquo; (UNIC; project number: 190051).\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e Most Chinese migrants in Geneva can recognize Chinese characters, but some of their adult children could not.\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e It is important to emphasize that the ratio of male to female interviewees corresponded to the actual ratio of men to women among Chinese migrants in Geneva. This difference could be explained by the fact that it is easier for female Chinese migrants to move to Switzerland via marriage compared to male Chinese migrants (Chen et al., 2021).\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e This study uses this somewhat arbitrary residence length to focus on migrants with a common and recent experience of settling in Geneva. This enables participants to easily recall and talk about their migratory paths and practices in Geneva regarding networking and inclusion dynamics.\\u003c/span\\u003e \\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e Regarding the definition of migration, returning citizens who have undergone significant or long-term international migration are usually no longer classified as \\u0026ldquo;migrants\\u0026rdquo; despite having undergone a migration journey and experiencing migration. Therefore, the participants involved in this study do not include Chinese migrants in Switzerland who have returned to China or their country of origin.\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e I stopped interviewing people as saturation of information was reached.\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e In contrast to \\u0026ldquo;newcomers,\\u0026rdquo; the term \\u0026ldquo;oldcomers\\u0026rdquo; refers to Chinese migrants who arrived in Geneva in the last century.\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e All interview data were anonymized using pseudonyms.\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e Other social media platforms, such as Facebook, were also used. However, Chinese migrants prefer to use China-based social media platforms such as WeChat to facilitate contact with friends and family in China.\\u003c/span\\u003e\\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003cli\\u003e\\u003cspan\\u003e This seems to be different from the situation of Chinese migrants in Lausanne. According to Lieber Gabbiani and Levy, \\u0026ldquo;there is no communication between the latecomers and the firstcomers\\u0026rdquo; (Spickard, \\u003cspan citationid=\\\"CR56\\\" class=\\\"CitationRef\\\"\\u003e2013\\u003c/span\\u003e).\\u003c/span\\u003e \\u003c/li\\u003e\\u003c/ol\\u003e\"}],\"fulltextSource\":\"\",\"fullText\":\"\",\"funders\":[],\"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow\":false,\"hasManuscriptDocX\":true,\"hasOptedInToPreprint\":true,\"hasPassedJournalQc\":\"\",\"hasAnyPriority\":false,\"hideJournal\":false,\"highlight\":\"\",\"institution\":\"\",\"isAcceptedByJournal\":false,\"isAuthorSuppliedPdf\":false,\"isDeskRejected\":\"\",\"isHiddenFromSearch\":false,\"isInQc\":false,\"isInWorkflow\":false,\"isPdf\":false,\"isPdfUpToDate\":true,\"isWithdrawnOrRetracted\":false,\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"palcomms\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Humanities \\u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)\",\"snPcode\":\"41599\",\"submissionUrl\":\"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3\",\"title\":\"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications\",\"twitterHandle\":\"\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":true,\"editorialSystem\":\"stoa\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"Nature AJ\",\"inReviewEnabled\":true,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":false},\"keywords\":\"Migratory career, hybridity of territories belonging, online media practice, everyday life, figuration practices, boundary work\",\"lastPublishedDoi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6506207/v1\",\"lastPublishedDoiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6506207/v1\",\"license\":{\"name\":\"CC BY 4.0\",\"url\":\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\"},\"manuscriptAbstract\":\"\\u003cp\\u003eThis study conducts a qualitative approach to examine the everyday practices of Chinese migrants in Geneva, Switzerland, unveiling how they gradually shape a hybrid sense of belonging through the interplay of structural constraints, personal agency, and mediation by ICTs. The findings indicate that the construction of belonging among these migrants does not follow a linear path of assimilation but rather evolves through innovative uses of everyday media tactics and ICTs. Migrants tactically employ self-presentation, weave transnational information networks, construct digital communities, and engage in technological empowerment to convert gaps in the legal, social, and economic structures into spaces of flexible belonging. The research highlights the non-uniform, tactical, and open-ended nature of hybrid belonging. As this form of belonging continuously reconfigures itself, ICTs emerge as crucial mediators, and everyday practices become critical arenas that allow migrants to navigate their existence \\u0026ldquo;here and there.\\u0026rdquo; This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex processes that migrants navigate and broadens the conceptualization of digital diaspora and the digital transformation of social networks. It underscores the significance of hybrid belonging as an evolving, mediated, and lived experience, redefining how migrants negotiate their identities amidst the constraints and opportunities of their new environments.\\u003c/p\\u003e\",\"manuscriptTitle\":\"The Gradual Hybridization of Belonging: A Qualitative Study of Chinese Migrants in Geneva\",\"msid\":\"\",\"msnumber\":\"\",\"nonDraftVersions\":[{\"code\":1,\"date\":\"2025-06-13 14:37:13\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6506207/v1\",\"editorialEvents\":[{\"type\":\"communityComments\",\"content\":0},{\"type\":\"decision\",\"content\":\"Revision requested\",\"date\":\"2025-09-12T14:26:02+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-07-22T12:38:30+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorInvitedReview\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-07-04T07:34:28+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"8776817689166273941340180657801012130\",\"date\":\"2025-06-16T10:57:54+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewerAgreed\",\"content\":\"102323201368380097519930256011918003578\",\"date\":\"2025-06-13T13:46:41+00:00\",\"index\":\"hide\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"reviewersInvited\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-06-11T09:56:36+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"editorAssigned\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-06-09T07:39:06+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"checksComplete\",\"content\":\"\",\"date\":\"2025-05-19T13:19:29+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"submitted\",\"content\":\"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications\",\"date\":\"2025-04-22T16:33:28+00:00\",\"index\":\"\",\"fulltext\":\"\"}],\"status\":\"published\",\"journal\":{\"display\":true,\"email\":\"info@researchsquare.com\",\"identity\":\"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications\",\"isNatureJournal\":false,\"hasQc\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"externalIdentity\":\"palcomms\",\"sideBox\":\"Learn more about [Humanities \\u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)\",\"snPcode\":\"41599\",\"submissionUrl\":\"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3\",\"title\":\"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications\",\"twitterHandle\":\"\",\"acdcEnabled\":true,\"dfaEnabled\":true,\"editorialSystem\":\"stoa\",\"reportingPortfolio\":\"Nature AJ\",\"inReviewEnabled\":true,\"inReviewRevisionsEnabled\":false}}],\"origin\":\"\",\"ownerIdentity\":\"a9da9d52-6fd2-4a63-85c2-15b69ea80fb4\",\"owner\":[],\"postedDate\":\"June 13th, 2025\",\"published\":true,\"recentEditorialEvents\":[],\"rejectedJournal\":[],\"revision\":\"\",\"amendment\":\"\",\"status\":\"under-review\",\"subjectAreas\":[{\"id\":49876450,\"name\":\"Social science/Cultural and media studies\"},{\"id\":49876451,\"name\":\"Social science/Sociology\"}],\"tags\":[],\"updatedAt\":\"2025-11-25T15:23:19+00:00\",\"versionOfRecord\":[],\"versionCreatedAt\":\"2025-06-13 14:37:13\",\"video\":\"\",\"vorDoi\":\"\",\"vorDoiUrl\":\"\",\"workflowStages\":[]},\"version\":\"v1\",\"identity\":\"rs-6506207\",\"journalConfig\":\"researchsquare\"},\"__N_SSP\":true},\"page\":\"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]\",\"query\":{\"redirect\":\"/article/rs-6506207\",\"identity\":\"rs-6506207\",\"version\":[\"v1\"]},\"buildId\":\"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7\",\"isFallback\":false,\"isExperimentalCompile\":false,\"dynamicIds\":[84888],\"gssp\":true,\"scriptLoader\":[]}","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}