Personal Profile Settings as Cultural Frames: Facebook Versus Vkontakte

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in cross-country comparative studies of multiple social networking site (SNS) platforms, and the aim of these studies is to uncover the impact of culture on the use of SNSs. The present article seeks to advance this line of research by drawing a distinction between platform difference and usage difference. It argues that culture affects both the design and use of an SNS platform. Through comparing and contrasting the personal profile settings of Facebook and Vkontakte, the article shows that the design features of these two SNS platforms reflect the cultural characteristics of the countries from which the platforms originated. The cultural patterns that are encoded in the design features of the platforms inevitably influence the use of the platforms. This finding suggests the need to control for platform difference while examining the impact of culture on usage difference in cross-country studies of multiple SNS platforms.

Teaching “Against” Social Media: Confronting Problems of Profit in the Curriculum

“…Such studies can help illuminate how citizens, lawmakers, and companies operate in different countries and also how individuals use U.S. platforms like Facebook or Twitter, or widely used mediums like WeChat or VKontakte. As we have seen, because social media platforms are affected by sociocultural patterns that are encoded in the design features of the platforms, different sociotechnical systems influence social and educational usage differently (Zhao, Shchekoturov, & Shchekoturova, 2017). We need more explorations of diverse sociotechnical microsystems, their specific characteristics, and their impact on usage in cross-country studies.…”

Twenty-Five Years of Social Media: A Review of Social Media Applications and Definitions from 1994 to 2019

“…These possible cultural differences in the definition or selection of an SM definition as a basis for research could be linked to the fact that in different countries and cultural clusters different SM platforms are more or less popular. 49 Overall, our research will help compare findings from SM literature more easily and avoid misinterpretations of past and future research.…”

National markets in a world of global platform giants: The persistence of Russian domestic competitors

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