The Impact of Social Media on Identity Formation and Cultural Practices in Cameroon: A Qualitative Anthropological Study in Urban and Semi-Urban Cameroon
Abstract
The rapid expansion of social media across sub-Saharan Africa has generated increasing scholarly interest in its implications for cultural identity, community belonging, and the transmission of cultural practices. This qualitative anthropological study examines how Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube influence identity formation and cultural practices among users in urban and semi-urban Cameroon. Data were collected between October and December 2025 through semi-structured interviews and ethnographic conversations with 40 participants of diverse ethnic, generational, educational, and professional backgrounds in Yaoundé and Maroua. Thematic analysis explored participants' motivations for social media use, barriers to digital access, processes of identity construction, cultural preservation initiatives, and experiences of acculturation. The findings reveal the dual role of social media in contemporary Cameroonian society. On the one hand, digital platforms strengthen cultural continuity by supporting diaspora networks, community-based WhatsApp groups, indigenous language learning, and the transmission of cultural knowledge. On the other hand, participants associated social media with increasing exposure to dominant global cultural models, processes of acculturation, the spread of cultural misinformation, and persistent inequalities in digital access, including high connectivity costs, unreliable electricity, and uneven network coverage. The study argues that the cultural consequences of social media are shaped not by technology alone but by broader historical, social, and institutional contexts. It concludes by recommending culturally responsive digital literacy programmes, greater investment in locally produced digital cultural content, and community-led initiatives that use digital platforms to strengthen Cameroon's diverse cultural heritage.