How to bridge the gap? Information asymmetry in Tibetan-Chinese bilingual search behavior

Abstract

Significant information asymmetries exist between majority and minority languages on the web. The information asymmetry makes it difficult for ethnic minorities to access online information in their native languages, exacerbating their information vulnerability. It is necessary to investigate whether the information asymmetry between these two languages affects the language selection and interaction behavior of bilinguals in online searches. A user search experiment (N = 30) was conducted in Tibetan-Chinese bilinguals, combined with retrospective think-aloud interviews. Tibetan-Chinese bilinguals showed a preference for Chinese search, seen as a native language (L1) loss tendency in search. The bilinguals present an information asymmetry stereotype, which influenced their search language selection and negatively affected their search behavior. Four search phases for Tibetan-Chinese bilinguals were identified: direct search, vigilant avoidance, blind attempts, and serendipitous search.