Babel or great wall: social media use among chinese students in the United States

Abstract

We investigated how social media support the acculturation process for an expatriate group: Chinese students in the United States. We interviewed 20 participants and found that 1) students extensively used Chinese social media to maintain their original self, especially through social bonding and information surveillance activities, while facing culture shock; 2) social media were also critical in helping students assimilate into their new (American) culture, through affordances for scaffolding, bridging, and surveillance; 3) the use of social media across the acculturation process is evolving in the context of the changing ecology of social media. This study expands existing HCI work on inter-cultural communication and collaboration activities toward consideration of acculturation strategies, online support for identity, and designing for individual development.