Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization

Yıl: 2020 Cilt: 5 Sayı: 10 Sayfa Aralığı: 668 - 684 Metin Dili: İngilizce İndeks Tarihi: 27-12-2021

Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization

Öz:
The study aims to find out the purposes for which international students use social media and its effects on users in the course of adaptation to a new culture and social environment. In accordance with this aim, international students have been selected as the sample case from Kırklareli University which is located in the northwest of Turkey. In-depth semi-structured interviews have been carried out with 20 students who were contacted through the KLU International Student Club. In light of the obtained data, it has been concluded that international students have made some changes in the social media tools they use to adapt to their new social and cultural environment and their usage purposes. Besides, the research found that students have instrumentalized social media in the context of language learning, expanding their social environment, improving cultural interactions and maintaining cultural&social ties with the homeland.
Anahtar Kelime:

Uluslararası Öğrencilerin Sosyal Medya Kullanımı: Kültürel Adaptasyon ve Sosyalleşme

Öz:
Çalışmanın amacı, uluslararası öğrencilerin sosyal medyayı hangi amaçlarla kullandıkları ve bu sosyal medya kullanımının yeni bir kültüre ve sosyal çevreye adaptasyon bağlamındaki etkilerini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Bu amaçla Türkiye’nin kuzeybatısında bulunan Kırklareli Üniversitesindeki uluslararası öğrenciler örneklem olarak seçilmiş ve KLU Uluslararası Öğrenci Kulübü aracılığıyla temasa geçilen 20 öğrenciyle yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler ışığında, uluslararası öğrencilerin yeni girdikleri sosyal ve kültürel çevreye adapte olmak için kullandıkları sosyal medya araçları ve bunları kullanım amaçlarında birtakım değişikliklere gittikleri tespit edilmiştir. Bunun yanında öğrencilerin dil öğrenme, kültürel oryantasyon, sosyal çevreyi genişletme, kültürel etkileşim ve anavatanla kültürel ve sosyal bağları koruma bağlamında sosyal medyayı araçsallaştırdıkları görülmüştür.
Anahtar Kelime:

Belge Türü: Makale Makale Türü: Araştırma Makalesi Erişim Türü: Erişime Açık
  • Allen, J. T., Drane, D. D., Byon, K. K., & Mohn, R. S. (2010). Sport as a vehicle for socialization and maintenance of cultural identity: International students attending American universities. Sport Management Review, 13(4), 421-434.
  • Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697–712.
  • Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input, Pathfinder International, Monitoring and Evaluation, 2, 1-12.
  • Brekke, M. (2008). Young refugees in a network society, In Mobility and place: Enacting Northern European peripheries, Aldershot: Ashgate, 103-114.
  • Castells, M. (2002). The Internet galaxy: reflections on the Internet, business, and society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Cresswell, J., (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Croucher, S. M. (2011). Social networking and cultural adaptation: A theoretical model. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 4, 259–264.
  • Çömlekçi, M. F., & Bozkanat, E. (2019). Alternatif Diasporanın Sosyal Medya İletişimi:“- New Wave in Berlin” Facebook Grubu Örneği. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Elektronik Dergisi, 7(2), 932-952.
  • Dekker, R., & Engbersen, G. (2014). How social media transform migrant networks and facilitate migration. Global Networks, 14, 401–418.
  • Forbush, E., & Foucault-Welles, B. (2016). Social media use and adaptation among Chinese students beginning to study in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 50, 1-12.
  • Gomes, C. (2015). Negotiating everyday life in Australia: Unpacking the parallel society inhabited by Asian international students through their social networks and entertainment media use. Journal of Youth Studies, 18(4), 515-536.
  • Hmida, M. H., Ozcaglar-Toulouse, N., & Fosse-Gomez, M. (2009). Towards an understanding of media usage and acculturation. Advances in Consumer Research, 36, 524 531.
  • Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–69.
  • Keshishian, F. (2000). Acculturation, communication, and the US mass media: The experience of an Iranian immigrant. Howard Journal of Communications, 11(2), 93-106.
  • Kim, Y. (2008). Communication experiences of American expatriates in South Korea: A study of cross-cultural adaptation. Human Communication, 11, 511–529.
  • Kim, K. H., Yun, H., & Yoon, Y. (2009). The Internet as a facilitator of cultural hybridization and interpersonal relationship management for Asian international students in South Korea. Asian Journal of Communication, 19(2), 152-169.
  • Komito, L. (2011). Social media and migration: Virtual community 2.0. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62, 1075–1086.
  • Kramer, E. (2003). Gaiatsu and the cultural judo. In The emerging monoculture, New York: Praeger.
  • Leong, S. (2015). Provisional business migrants to Western Australia, social media, and conditional belonging, In Media and Communication in the Chinese Diaspora: Rethinking Transnationalism, London: Routledge, 184–202.
  • Lim, S., & Pham, B. (2016). ‘If you are a foreigner in a foreign country, you stick together’: Technologically mediated communication and acculturation of migrant students. New Media & Society, 18(10), 2171-2188.
  • Lin, J., Peng, W., Kim, M., Kim, S. Y., & Larose, R. (2011). Social networking and adjustments among international students. New Media & Society, 14 (3), 421- 440.
  • Mcgregor, E., & Siegel, M. (2013). Social media and migration research, MERIT Working Papers Maastricht: United Nations University-Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology, 68.
  • Mears, C. L. (2012). In-depth interviews. Research methods and methodologies in education, 19, 170-176.
  • Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1, On the Horizon, 9 (5), 1-6.
  • Sawyer, R., & Chen, G. (2012). The Impact of Social Media on Intercultural Adaptation. Intercultural Communication Studies, 21 (2), 151–169.
  • Tüfekçi, Z. (2008). Grooming, gossip, Facebook and Myspace: What can we learn about these sites from those who won’t assimilate? Information, Communication & Society, 11, 544-564.
  • Ye, J. (2006). An examination of acculturative stress, interpersonal social support, and use of online ethnic social groups among Chinese international students. The Howard Journal of Communications, 17(1), 1-20.
  • Yu, B., & Wright, E. (2016). Socio-cultural adaptation, academic adaptation and satisfaction of international higher degree research students in Australia. Tertiary Education and Management, 22(1), 49-64.
APA Çömlekçi M (2020). Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. , 668 - 684.
Chicago Çömlekçi Mehmet Fatih Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. (2020): 668 - 684.
MLA Çömlekçi Mehmet Fatih Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. , 2020, ss.668 - 684.
AMA Çömlekçi M Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. . 2020; 668 - 684.
Vancouver Çömlekçi M Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. . 2020; 668 - 684.
IEEE Çömlekçi M "Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization." , ss.668 - 684, 2020.
ISNAD Çömlekçi, Mehmet Fatih. "Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization". (2020), 668-684.
APA Çömlekçi M (2020). Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. TRT Akademi, 5(10), 668 - 684.
Chicago Çömlekçi Mehmet Fatih Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. TRT Akademi 5, no.10 (2020): 668 - 684.
MLA Çömlekçi Mehmet Fatih Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. TRT Akademi, vol.5, no.10, 2020, ss.668 - 684.
AMA Çömlekçi M Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. TRT Akademi. 2020; 5(10): 668 - 684.
Vancouver Çömlekçi M Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization. TRT Akademi. 2020; 5(10): 668 - 684.
IEEE Çömlekçi M "Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization." TRT Akademi, 5, ss.668 - 684, 2020.
ISNAD Çömlekçi, Mehmet Fatih. "Social Media Use Among International Students: Cultural Adaptation and Socialization". TRT Akademi 5/10 (2020), 668-684.