A Digital Theological Investigation of Identity among Ghanaian Youth

研究概述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术正在研究人格在数字文化中转变时的变化模式和理论理解。然而，数字文化对人格的分支尚未得到应有的神学关注。这是一个现实的问题，因为学者们普遍认为，当代社会形态的一个重要方面是对自我认同的线下和在线态度的持续融合。这似乎在加纳社会中得到了证实，在那里，数字化和基督徒自我理解之间的互动具有多重矛盾的特点。这也是由沉浸在数字化中推动的：2019年，加纳在社交媒体上花费的时间在全球排名第9。因此，本研究建议对加纳年轻基督徒在数字空间中谈判构建个人身份的策略进行实证和神学调查，这些策略与基督教宗教领导力和权威的期望有关。这一谈判的参数是个人机构的数字化促进，个人身份的表演性，以及通过在线自我叙述的反思策划对真实性的追求。这项研究聚焦于18至35岁的年轻基督徒，这是加纳互联网和社交媒体使用最活跃的年龄段。基于通过在线内容分析、半结构化访谈和焦点小组讨论获得的数据，这项研究旨在回答这样一个问题：加纳青年如何在数字文化中协商他们对个人身份和基督教信仰的构建和描绘？通过这样做，它将提供一种神学分析和个人身份重新概念化，使个人在网上对真实自我的追求与对当代加纳基督教中真实基督教社区的神学关注相协调。最后，它将主张建立一个讨论人格的数字神学框架，以帮助防止与数字技术的设计和传播相关的不平等根深蒂固。通过这样做，它将推进正在进行的关于人的尊严和解放、性别平等以及数字和线下空间中的自我实现的神学论述，所有这些都是基于真实的自我认同的概念。

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.