Graduation Year
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Mass Communications
Major Professor
Scott Liu, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Roxanne Watson, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Artemio Ramirez, Jr., Ph.D.
Keywords
adaptation, Facebook, WeChat, maintenance and culture
Abstract
In terms of Uses and gratification theory, this study examined the relationships between the usage of social networking sites and acculturation among Chinese students who are studying in U.S. colleges (N=246). By comparing two different SNSs, American SNS (Facebook) and ethnic SNS (WeChat), it was discovered that Chinese students exposed differential needs and gratification achievement in these two SNSs. This study applied a quantitative method, and data were collected with an online survey platform "Qualtrics," which was carried out on February 2018. The present study found that the degree of Facebook gratification can lead to the increasing of use intensity. In contrast, the degree of WeChat gratification cannot be reflected in use intensity. Intriguingly, Facebook and WeChat indeed act as important roles in adaptation to U.S. culture and maintenance to Chinese culture respectively.
Scholar Commons Citation
Wang, Mengni, "Cultural Adaptation and Maintenance: Chinese International Students' Use of Facebook and WeChat" (2018). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/7242
