As Caribbean persons we straddle all kinds of positionings - in the vein of Derrida and Hall - the specter of our African-ness, the ever present bent toward mastering that which the Colonizer instilled (ergo "civilization"), and all the other things between the lure of the sun and sea breeze. The study also has surprising results in how residents are explicitly non-activist and align themselves with everyday values of maintaining good relationships in a small town, rather than espousing more worldly or cosmopolitan values.
Carnival logic and high-impact visuality is pervasive in uses of social media, even if Carnival is not embraced by all Trinidadians in the town and results in presenting oneself and association with different groups in varying ways. Not elevating oneself above others is one of the core values of the town, and social media becomes a tool for social visibility that is, the process of how social norms come to be and how they are negotiated. The complex identity of the town is expressed through uses of social media, with significant results for understanding social media more generally. Jolynna Sinanan argues that this semi-urban town is a place in-between: somewhere city dwellers look down on and villagers look up to. Drawing on 15 months of ethnographic research in one of the most under-developed regions in the Caribbean island of Trinidad, this book describes the uses and consequences of social media for its residents.
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