The Use of Social Media in Intercultural Friendship Development

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Studying in a foreign country provides an opportunity for students from diverse cultural backgrounds to develop an intercultural friendship between each other. In today's increasingly digitalized society, the use of social media cannot be detached from any communication context, including intercultural communication. Previous studies have examined the use of social media in various settings of intercultural communication. This study aims to examine the use of social media in intercultural friendship development among foreign students in Kocaeli University, Turkey. Applying qualitative method, six foreign students who represent four different cultural backgrounds were interviewed in this study. The interview tried to explore their subjective experiences of using social media to develop an intercultural friendship with other foreign students in their surroundings. The study reveals various similarities and differences of the pattern, evaluation, and impact of using social media in intercultural friendship development. The study concludes that the use of social media tends to enhance the intercultural friendship development. Keywords: social media, intercultural friendship development, foreign students Abstrak. Belajar di luar negeri memberikan kesempatan bagi siswa dari latar belakang

A Qualitative Study of Intercultural Friendship through New Social Media

“…Research on intercultural friendships is limited in terms of research interests, topics, methodology, and scope. Generally speaking, studies have been interested in discovering phases of intercultural friendship development (Lee 2008) and variables for interculturalfriendship development (Chen 2006;Gareis 2000;Gareis 2012;Gareis, Merkin & Goldman 2011;Gareis 2012;Gudykunst & Kim 1997;Kim 1991;Kudo & Simkin 2003;Lee 2006;Mas'udah 2017;Shiau 2016;Sias et al 2008). All the existing studies under review used either interviews or surveys for data collection, relying upon participants' recollections and narrative reconstructions of their experiences.…”

“…All the existing studies under review used either interviews or surveys for data collection, relying upon participants' recollections and narrative reconstructions of their experiences. All the studies except for Shiau (2016) and Mas'udah (2017) examined intercultural friendships in face-to-face situations. Lee (2008) identifies three stages of intercultural friendship formation: initial encounter, interaction, and involvement, which parallel the three phases (trial, enmeshment, and involvement) of the Identity Management Theory (Cupach & Imahori 1993, Imahori & Cupach 2005).…”

“…While all the above studies address face-to-face intercultural friendships, two studies have examined intercultural-friendship development on social media (Mas'udah 2017, Shiau 2016. In Shiau's study, 18 Taiwanese ESL students recounted their use of social media in English learning and intercultural relationships.…”