A Digital Theological Investigation of Identity among Ghanaian Youth

自我作为人格的一个方面的概念是神学反思的一个长期主题。越来越多的社会科学学者正在研究数字文化中人格的变化模式和理论理解。然而，数字文化对人格的影响并没有得到应有的神学关注。考虑到学者们普遍认为当代社会形态的一个重要方面是对自我认同的离线和在线态度的持续融合，这是一个现实问题。这似乎在加纳社会得到了证实，在那里，数字化与基督教自我理解之间的相互作用以多重矛盾为特征。这也得益于对数字化的高度投入：2019年，加纳在社交媒体上花费的时间在全球排名第九。因此，目前的研究提出了一个经验和神学调查的策略，年轻的加纳基督徒谈判的个人身份建设在数字空间与基督教宗教领袖和权威的期望有关。这种协商的参数是个人代理的数字推广，个人身份的表演，以及通过在线自我叙述的反思性策划对真实性的追求。它的重点是18至35岁的年轻基督徒，这是加纳使用互联网和社交媒体最活跃的年龄组。基于线上内容分析、半结构化访谈和焦点小组讨论所获得的数据，本研究旨在回答以下问题：加纳青年如何在数位文化中建构和塑造个人身份与基督教信仰？在此过程中，它将提供个人身份的神学分析和重新概念化，以协调当代加纳基督教中个人对真实自我的在线追求与对真实基督教社区的神学关注。最后，它将提出一个讨论人格的数字神学框架，以帮助防范与数字技术的设计和传播相关的不平等的根深蒂固。在此过程中，它将推进正在进行的关于人类尊严和解放、性别平等以及数字和离线空间中的自我实现的神学话语，所有这些都基于真实自我认同的概念。

Research SummaryThe notion of the self as an aspect of person hood is a longstanding subject of theological reflection.A growing body of social-scientific scholarship is investigating the changing modes and theoretical understandings of personhood as it is transformed within digital culture.Yet, the ramifications of digital culture for personhood have not received due theological attention. This is areal problem considering scholars widely agree that a significant aspect of contemporary social formations is an ongoing fusion of offline and online attitudes to self-identity. This seems to be borne out in Ghanaian society, where the interaction between digitality and Christian self-understanding is characterised by multiple ambivalences. It is also driven by intense immersion in digitality: in 2019,Ghana ranked 9th globally for time spent on social media.The current study therefore proposes an empirical and theological investigation of the strategies by which young Ghanaian Christians negotiate the construction of personal identity in digital space in relation to the expectations of Christian religious leadership and authority. The parameters of this negotiation are the digital promotion of individual agency,the performativity of personal identity, and the quest for authenticity through the reflective curation of self-narratives online. It focuses on young Christians, aged 18 to 35 years, the most active age group when it comes to Internet and social media use in Ghana.Based on data obtained through a blend of online content analysis,semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions,the study aims to answer the question How do Ghanaian youth negotiate their construction and portrayal of personal identity and Christian faith within digital culture?In doing so, it will offer a theological analysis and reconceptualization of personal identity that harmonises the individual's online quest for authentic selfhood with the theological concern for authentic Christian community within contemporary Ghanaian Christianity. Finally, it will argue for a digital theological framework for discussing personhood that can help guard against the entrenchment of inequalities associated with the design and spread of digital technologies. In doing so, it will advance ongoing theological discourses on human dignity and liberation, gender equality, and self-actualisation in both digital and offline space, all of which are predicated on notions of authentic self-identity.