Acculturation Motives and Use of the Internet Among Chinese and Korean International Students in the U.S. Min Jeong Kim

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2010 Acculturation Motives and Use of the Internet Among Chinese and Korean International Students in the U.S. Min Jeong Kim

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COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

ACCULTURATION MOTIVES AND USE OF THE INTERNET AMONG CHINESE AND KOREAN

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN THE U.S.

MIN JEONG KIM

A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010

The members of the committee approve the thesis of Min Jeong Kim defended on March 30, 2010.

______Stephen D. McDowell Professor Directing Thesis

______Ulla Bunz Committee Member

______Felecia F. Jordan-Jackson Committee Member

Approved: ______Stephen D. McDowell, Director, School of Communication

______Lawrence C. Dennis, Dean, College of Communication & Information

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee member

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee members- Dr. Stephen D. McDowell, Dr. Ulla Bunz, and Dr. Felecia F. Jordan-Jackson. They all gave me guidance and constructive criticism to complete this work.

I am particularly grateful to Dr. McDowell for his invaluable direction, encouragement and motivations. I would have never been finished this work without Dr. McDowell‘s support.

I also would like to express my thanks to the international students who gladly made time for this study and shared with me the experiences and stories that made this work possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ...... Abstract ......

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Scope of the study ...... 1 Organization of the study ...... 3

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 4

Acculturation...... 4 Two dimensions of acculturation ...... 4 Mass media in the acculturation process ...... 6

Acculturation motives for the Internet use...... 7 The motives for the Internet use ...... 7 Acculturation motives for the Internet use...... 8

RQ1 and information seeking/ social utility activities on the net ...... 8 Social utility activities on the net ...... 9 Information seeking on the net ...... 10

RQ2 and English-language/native-language Internet ...... 10

3. METHODOLOGY ...... 12

Sampling Characteristics ...... 12 East Asian International Students ...... 12 Sampling ...... 13 Sampling size ...... 14 Screening ...... 15 The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) ...... 17

Data Collection ...... 18 Semi-structured In-depth Interviews...... 18 The Location of Interviews ...... 20 Observation ...... 20 Procedure ...... 21

Data Analysis and Interpretation ...... 22 Coding Process...... 22

Groups for Comparison...... 22 Reporting the Findings ...... 24

4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...... 25

Findings...... 25 Finding 1 ...... 25 Finding 2 ...... 27 Finding 3 ...... 30 Finding 4 ...... 33 Finding 5 ...... 34 Finding 6 ...... 35

Discussion ...... 36 The Absence of the Mainstream-oriented CI group ...... 37 Social Interactions and Expressions...... 38 Social Support of Social utility Internet Activities ...... 39 Emotional support ...... 39 Informational support ...... 40 Information Seeking Internet Activities ...... 40

5. CONCLUSION ...... 41

Research question 1 ...... 41 Research question 2 ...... 43 Limitations ...... 44 Contributions to Future Study ...... 45

APPENDICES ...... 47

A INFORMED CONSENT FORM ...... 47 B QUESTIONNARE ...... 48 C INTERVIEW GUIDE ...... 51 D RECRUITMENT E-MAIL ...... 54 E OBSERVATION GUIDE ...... 55 F APPROVAL MEMORANDUM ...... 56

REFERENCES ...... 58 BIOGRAPHICAL SCHETCH ...... 63

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Participants‘ information ...... 15

Table 2: CI comparison groups ...... 26

ABSTRACT

The current investigation explores how acculturation motives are reflected in Internet use among Chinese and Korean international students. The purposes of this study are two- fold. The primary goal is to help understand the way Internet activities are associated with acculturation motives. The secondary purpose is to explore how acculturation motives are fulfilled in two different type of Internet usage: English-language and native-language Internet. Acculturation motives are examined in terms of acquisition of new traits and maintenance of the heritage culture. This research employs acculturation theories and the uses and theoretical gratification perspectives to studying Internet use and acculturation motives. Following the nature of the study, in-depth interviews and observations were employed to examine the Internet use of thirteen Chinese and Korean international students in the United States. The study demonstrates that participants used the Internet the most for communication within the local communities and the home countries. Internet communication plays an important role in fulfilling acculturation motives in complementing limited interpersonal communications and in acquisition of social support. Socially active international students were more involved in the social utility of Internet activities, such as Facebook or instant messengers. Another important finding of this work revealed that there was no distinguishing difference in using English-language or native-language Internet, when it comes to acquisition of new traits and maintenance of the heritage culture. Unlike other traditional mass media, the linguistic and cultural nature of each Internet type was not closely related to fulfilling acculturation motives.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The influence of the Internet has caused a change in the way we live: communicate, work, learn or shop. Moreover, the Internet has become one of the extensions of self. ―I love the way my laptop has my whole life on it,‖ an investment counselor in her mid-forties said of her laptop computer (Turkle, 1997). Just as different people use the Internet in different ways, so do different cultures (Turkle, 1997). The ways people use the Internet contain psychological, social and cultural meanings. This study deals with the meanings of the Internet use for international students of different cultural identifications in the U.S. Although information seeking and social utility activities underlie the most common patterns of Internet usage, they can have more significant meanings for people who live in a foreign country. For new arrivals filled with anxiety and uncertainty about a new environment, the Internet acts as a survival kit that fulfills informational and emotional needs. The web is available around the clock, supplies a vast array of information, provides for immediate responses, and offers custom information services (e.g., Yahoo! Answers). It also increases the frequency and the easiness of interpersonal communications both with the new society and the home country. New arrivals may feel better connected and more supported by others. Acculturation, adaptation to a new environment, is not a process in which new cultural elements are simply added to prior internal conditions (Kim, 2001). As the interplay of the acquisition of new cultural values and the maintenance of a heritage culture continues (Laroch, Kim, & Hui, 1997; Mendosa & Martinez, 1981), new arrivals undergo internal formation. Among many psychological, social and cultural factors that influence the acculturation process, the Internet has worked as a crucial medium that helps individuals learn new cultural traits and maintain their own heritage culture. This research focuses on Internet usage that fulfills acculturation motives.

Scope of the Study

This study involved an examination of perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward Internet use as it influences the acculturation process. The primary purpose of the study was to understand how the motivation for acculturation is reflected in Internet use. This study contains an

1 analysis of international students‘ own accounts of the following aspects of their Internet use: learning North American cultural values and traits, the maintenance of heritage cultural traits, and the complement of limited interpersonal and social communication and support. The aspects of Internet use are probed by Internet type (English-language/ethnic-language Internet) and activities (information seeking/social utility). East Asian international students were chosen for the study for following reasons. First, this study mainly explored Internet use, so the study‘s population had to be familiar with the Internet, and Internet literacy is widespread in the student population. Asian international students are considered the most active group in using the Internet to obtain information. Second, Asian international students have heritage cultural backgrounds that are much different from non-Asian students, so they tend to experience a more intense acculturation process than European or other international students. Third, the maintenance of heritage culture is one of core concepts of acculturation applied in this study. International students, as sojourners who plan to return to their home countries, unlike immigrants, do not want lose their heritage culture. Finally, since in the current study, constant comparison methods were applied, the different cultural heritage of respondents (Korean, Chinese or Taiwanese) can provide another criterion for analysis of the results. Since this research focuses on Asian international students who are currently registered at Florida State University (FSU), American cultural values and traits that respondents perceive were defined as FSU majority culture. In 2007, the FSU student body consisted of 71% white students, 12% African Americans, 10% Hispanics, and 3% Asians. The vast majority of students were Florida residents (90%). The exploratory and interpretive nature of this study, which emphasized meanings and functions of Internet use in Asian international students‘ acculturation, demanded the use of semi-structured interviews and observation. Interviews are particularly well suited to understand the social actor's experience and perspective (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). The researcher expected participants to relate their perceptions and actual experiences regarding Internet use and its impact on their cultural adaptations and maintenance of heritage culture. The findings of the current study provide synthesized and relevant insights into Internet consumption and acculturation.

Organization of the Study

This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 contains the introduction and overview. Chapter 2 consists of a literature review in three main conceptual areas: acculturation, influences of mass media in the acculturation process, and acculturation motives in Internet use. Based on the literature review, research questions are proposed in Chapter 2 as well. Chapter 3 contains the methodology and research design of this study. Based on the exploratory and interpretive nature of this study, semi-structured interviews and observations are explained. Also, sampling strategies, data collection, and data analysis are demonstrated. Chapter 4 describes the findings and discussion. Chapter 5 is the conclusion, and limitations of the study and implications for future research are presented.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

The overall purpose of this study was to examine how Asian international students' acculturation motives are reflected in their Internet use. With an emphasis on active media use and the ability to span both mass and interpersonal communication, uses and gratifications were initially regarded as a natural paradigm for understanding the Internet (Morris & Ogan, 1996). Uses and gratifications have been applied to a wide range of mass media research. Palmgreen et al. (1985) concluded that uses and gratifications typically only account for between 1% and 15% of the variance in use of conventional media. This applies to the Internet, as well (Larose et al., 2001). However, in recent years, comparisons between the gratifications sought from a medium and gratifications obtained have been stressed (Larose et al., 2001). Palmgreen et al. (1981) pointed out that gratifications sought do not predict media behavior very well; they have far greater explanatory power when compared with gratifications obtained. Thus, this study focused on the investigation of acculturation gratifications sought from the Internet and actual gratifications obtained by respondents‘ information seeking/social utility activities regarding English- language/ethnic-language Internet use. The literature review encompassed the conceptual areas of acculturation, influences of mass media in the acculturation process, and acculturative motives for Internet use. The review focused on (a) influences of the use of mass media on the acculturation process and (b) whether Internet activities gratify acculturation motives in terms of acquisition of new cultural traits and maintenance of heritage cultural traits. The review covered previous research conducted to examine mass media use in the acculturation process using the bidimensional acculturation approach.

Acculturation

Two Dimensions of Acculturation Process Adaptation to a new environment is not a process in which new cultural elements are simply added to prior internal conditions (Kim, 2001). As the interplay of acquisition of new cultural values and maintenance of heritage culture continues (Laroch, Kim, & Hui, 1997; Mendosa & Martinez, 1981), new arrivals undergo internal formation. Acculturation has been regarded as a process in which both heritage and mainstream cultural identities are free to vary independently (Berry, 1997; Laroche et al.,

1996; Sayegh & Lasry, 1993). Two dimensions of acculturation are defined as (a) the strength of one's wish to retain cultural identity and (b) the extent of one's wish to foster positive relations with the host culture (Berry, 1997). Some previous acculturation research has ignored the importance of heritage maintenance or considered it to be a negative factor that retards the acculturation process. For example, research has demonstrated a tendency to focus on how newcomers learn and acquire new cultural traits, and so has measured only immigrants' Americanization as an acculturation indicator. This conception of acculturation as assimilation has informed much of the research on cultural change. The majority of such studies have used demographic variables, such as generational status, age at immigration, or years lived in the new country, as proxy measures of acculturation, with the underlying assumption being that individuals have more exposure and, consequently, greater adaptation to the mainstream culture with the passage of time (Ryder et al., 2000). However, there is a limitation inherent in using such an approach: It cannot provide explanations for a bicultural identity. Specifically, sojourners, individuals who temporarily stay in the U.S. with a defined purpose such as education or work, develop a bicultural identity while trying to internalize the values of the new culture with those of their home culture. For example, international students want to participate in and learn as much as possible about the host culture, but they do not want to lose their sense of cultural identity (Paige, 1990). This research was designed to study East Asian international students as sojourners who are likely to have bicultural identities because of their desire to both learn American culture and maintain their cultural heritage. A bidimensional acculturation approach can provide suitable explanations for those people who have developed multiple cultural identities. There are two core assumptions for this bi-dimensional approach: First, individuals differ in the extent to which self-identity includes culturally based values, attitudes, and behaviors; second, individuals are capable of having multiple cultural identities, each of which may independently vary in strength (Ryder et al., 2000). Researchers have taken this approach by measuring these two dimensions separately. For instance, Sayegh and Lasry (1993) asked participants to respond to two questions regarding strength of ethnic identity for heritage culture and mainstream culture. Similarly, Suinn (1994) added four experimental items to the SL-ASIA that reflect a bidimensional perspective in two domains: cultural values and interpersonal competencies. The bidimensional acculturation approach provides a more complete account of cultural change (Berry, 1980). For instance, effects that are correlated in the same direction with both acculturation dimensions can disappear entirely on a unidimensional measure such as length of residency. Moreover,

5 the bidimensional approach provides an opportunity to study the ways in which two cultures interact to predict acculturation effects (Brotto et al. 2005).

Mass Media Use in the Acculturation Process Both interpersonal and mass communications play major roles in the acculturation process. Kim (1978) suggested that sojourners and immigrants who more actively interact with members of the host culture are better adjusted psychologically and financially, but mass media communication behaviors are more important to people who are in the early phase of the adaptive process and short of knowledge of the new culture, have few contacts with people from the host country, and have limited language capacity. First, host mass media consumption facilitates learning and adjusting to new cultural traits. According to Walker (1999), for example, information from the American mass media is likely to play an important role in the creation of knowledge about American culture. The exposure to American mass media was a significant positive predictor for the acceptance of American cultural values, but a significant negative predictor of the affinity for Korean cultural identity (Moon et al., 2007). In addition, mass media's powerful influence over acculturation has been proved. For example, Stilling (1997) showed that the influence of media overpowered the duration of residency in the acculturation process. That study concluded that Hispanic immigrants who viewed a large quantity of English-language television programming acculturated more quickly than those who viewed less English-language programming; the study also found that significant acculturation differences among light TV viewers caused by duration of residence in the U.S. were not significant among heavy viewers. Also, exposure to the mass media not only helps sojourners learn about the new culture while avoiding the uncertainty and anxiety of interpersonal communication, but it also offers an adaptive function that complements interpersonal experiences (Kim, 1988). Many aspects of a new environment are unfamiliar and people feel high levels of uncertainty in such environments. Between disruptions to their established social network and the challenge of new cultural surroundings, for example, international students may be more susceptible to stress and attendant psychological problems than American students (Misra et al., 2003). Different language and cultural values, academic expectations and preparation, isolation, alienation, and discrimination have been identified as constructing an environment that includes high levels of stress. There are a number of different activities in which one might engage to assuage, or avoid dealing with, such uncertainty and unfamiliarity, including the pursuit

6 of host-country (primary) language fluency, interaction with public aspects of the host society, and use of host-country media (Laroche et al., 1997). Host mass media use can reduce uncertainty and shape one's acculturation process in terms of improving language skills and complementing sojourners' interpersonal experience while avoiding unfamiliarity and uncertainties associated with interpersonal communication (Kim, 1977). Ethnic mass media consumption helps to decrease acculturation stress, so it facilitates adaptation, as well. Native country mass media help consumers feel close to ethnic groups, relieve the pressures that immigrants feel in dealing with the host environment (Ward & Kennedy, 1994), and help them to cope with uncertainties and the sense of uprootedness (Deusen, 1982; King, 1984; Krause, 1978). Also, Ethnic mass media help to maintain ethnic cultural traits. For example, Lee (2004) found that satellite television played an important role in reinforcing immigrants‘ connection with Korean culture and society. However, while ethnic media promote ethnic identity and preserve a group's original culture (Jeffers, 2000), in the long run, heavy consumption of ethnic media may be a barrier to cross-cultural adaptation. Kim (2001) pointed out that ethnic media consumption impedes adaptation by reducing the pressure on sojourners/immigrants to come to terms with their new situation. Raman and Harwood (2008) found that Consumption of Indian print media and Indian movies most strongly and inversely predicted acculturation levels.

Acculturation Motives for Internet Use

Motives for Internet Use Unlike traditional media, the Internet blurs the line between mass and interpersonal communication. It has affected the way people communicate, interact, gather information, obtain entertainment, and develop or maintain relationships. During the past two decades, the Internet has risen from a governmental and educational system to a medium supporting high-speed video, audio, and text communication between ordinary people around the world, changing our social lives and the way we communicate (Kraut et al., 1998). Communication researchers have recognized the importance of studying the Internet as a communication medium, and with its emphasis on active media use and its ability to span both mass and interpersonal communication, uses and gratifications were initially regarded as a natural paradigm for

7 understanding Internet use (Morris & Ogan, 1996). Lin (1999) found that three classic mass media motivations (surveillance; escape, companionship, and identity; and entertainment) predicted 47% of the variance in a multi-item measure of the likelihood of adopting online services. Unique gratifications of the Internet have been explored as well. For example, Charney and Greenberg (2001) established eight gratification factors for the Internet (keep informed, diversion and entertainment, peer identity, good feelings, communication, sights and sounds, career, and ―coolness‖), and two of these (keep informed and communication) explained 36% of the variance in weekly time spent on the Internet.

Acculturation Motives for Internet Use Acculturation motives for Internet use and correlations have also been demonstrated by some researchers. Seo, Lee, and Kim (2007) interviewed 15 Korean immigrants and proposed eight factors that affect acculturation via American sports media consumption: stress release, conversation piece at work, improvement of language, learning of social customs, communication piece with business partner, fan identification (attachment with local university team), belongingness as local fan (sub-cultural attachment), and refreshment. According to Yang et al. (2004), the need for acculturation of Chinese international students in the U.S. was correlated with watching U.S.-based TV news programs and using U.S.-based news Web sites and the BBS. Ye (2005) investigated the Internet use of Eastern Asian students in the U.S. and their acculturative stress through three main motivations for Internet use: information seeking, social utility, and relaxation/entertainment. Also, Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) found that individuals who felt less satisfied and valued in face-to-face communication used the Internet as an alternative to interpersonal communication.

RQ1 and Social Utility/Information Seeking Activities on the Internet

The purpose of this study was to explore how Asian international students use the Internet with regard to acculturation motives. Thus, first, this research examined how two domains of acculturation— acquisition of new cultural traits and maintenance of heritage culture—are reflected in Asian international students‘ Internet use in terms of information seeking and social utility activities. Thus, I propose: RQ1: How do Internet activities reflect acculturation motives in terms of acquisition of new cultural traits and maintenance of heritage culture?

Social Utility Activities on the Internet Khan (1992) pointed out that a culture's mass media are significant sources of cultural information for newly arriving immigrants and sojourners. During this time, interpersonal communication can be stressful, so mass media offers an easy and pressure-free way to learn about a new culture. Mass media communication offers a chance to complement sojourners' interpersonal experiences while avoiding the unfamiliarity and uncertainties of interpersonal communication (Kim, 1977). Salem et al. (1997) suggested that online mutual help may provide a unique form of support for those individuals who are not as likely to seek traditional forms of help. Turner et al. (2001) examined the complementary nature of face-to-face and computer-mediated social support. Thus, the current study chose to examine social utility activities on the Internet over other Internet activities to explore how individuals use the Internet to complement and develop their limited interpersonal communication. In this online activity, the Internet plays an important role in maintaining close or distant social networks (Boase et al., 2006). The Internet increases the frequency of social interactions and strengthens interpersonal or social ties. People can easily communicate with the home country from abroad and form and sustain friendships or attachments. Social utility was defined as Internet activities that are conducted to get social supports, which are emotional support (i.e., concern, love, liking, empathy), appraisal support (i.e. affirmation or feedback), and informational support (i.e., advice or suggestions about environment) (House, 1981), to seek companionship, or to develop or maintain relationships. Social supports are usually received from people one meets or see most frequently and usually a more robust support is offered by those people with whom one has stronger ties (Wellman & Wortley, 1990). The Internet offers possibilities for interaction with people, which are not dependent on how far a person is living from you. Individuals' use of e-mail, Instant Messenger, social network sites, Twitter, Skype, and online ethnic social groups (e.g., FSU Korean International Students Association) were examined to see how two domains of acculturation, learning new cultural traits and maintaining heritage culture, are reflected in Internet use.

Information Seeking on the Internet Exposure to host mass media introduces sojourners and immigrants to a broad range of cultural elements, allowing them to comprehend the culture's history, values, and current issues without the frustration typical of initial interpersonal interactions (Kim, 1988). Some studies revealed a theoretical linkage between increased host mass media use and adaptation. Information-oriented use of host media

was predominant in immigrants' media usage patterns. Of the various types of mass communication experiences, exposure to information-oriented media such as newspapers, magazines, and television news was more strongly associated with adaptation than entertainment-oriented media (Kim, 1978). This study focused on how the Internet allows international students to more easily get specific information to learn new culture and maintain heritage culture. Internet behaviors designed to obtain any information such that individuals need for study, career, relationship, political or social news, or life in the U.S. was included in this criterion.

RQ2 and English-language/Native-language Internet Use

Also, this study provided an analysis of the use of Internet type in terms English-language and native-language Internet and acculturation motives. Media preference is another important indicator of acculturation for sojourners (Ye, 2005). The current study explained how the linguistic and cultural nature of each Internet is related to both acquisition of new culture and the heritage traits. Like other mass media, the Internet functions as a mechanism for social cohesion and social interaction. The ethnic Internet has been emphasized in not only maintenance of ethnicity but also strengthening of ethnic identity. While exposure to Chinese mass media was found to have contributed to the preservation of cultural identity, for instance, because of access to the Internet, ethnic Chinese are expected to become more resistant to cultural assimilation and to further strengthen their communal ties (Zhang & Xiaoming, 1998). Melkote and Liu (2000) found that ethnic Internet helps to sustain heritage values. Chinese ethnic Internet may enable Chinese international students and scholars in the U.S. to sustained Chinese values and rejected American values while acculturating to American everyday behaviors. Also, Ye (2005) investigated international students‘ use of English-language Internet and native-language Internet. Positive correlation between using English-language Internet and English proficiency was found, and acquisition of emotional and informational support was demonstrated in the use of Internet ethnic social groups (Ye, 2005). Therefore, understanding of individuals‘ acculturation motives for the use of both the English- language and native-language Internet allows examining how they function in the process of acculturation: how the use of the host and ethnic Internet helps sojourners learn new cultural values and maintain heritage cultural traits. Thus, I propose:

RQ2: How are acculturation motives reflected in the use of the Internet in terms of Internet type (English-language/native-language)?

The research questions address the main theoretical concepts related to the importance of motives for Internet use in the acculturation process. Answering these questions will contribute to better understanding of the Internet as a communication medium that connects individuals, societies, and cultures.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This study explored Asian International students‘ perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors toward the Internet use as aspects influencing acculturation process. The primary purpose of this study was to understand the ways Asian international students use the Internet influenced by acculturation motives. Since the nature of this study was explanatory, a qualitative research approach was used in the form of semi structured in-depth interview and observations. The selection of the respondents was based on purposeful and referral sampling strategies. A questionnaire was used to select 12 participants according to culture identification (CI), interest in acquisition of new culture, and nationality. Interviews were conducted at Florida State University. Interviews were digital recorded and coded. The researcher used notes to document initial interpretations throughout the interview process. Also, pictures were taken to record participants‘ laptop settings and observation notes (see Appendix E) were used in data analysis. A constant comparative method was used to find patterns and themes in the data. Initial findings were discussed with participants.

Sampling Characteristics

East Asian International Students International students provide an appropriate example of cross-cultural phenomena such as intercultural communication, cross cultural adjustment, cultural learning, and differing socialization histories (Berry, 1990). Asian international students, especially, who are raised in Eastern cultures widely different from Western cultures, tend to experience cross-cultural phenomena more intensely than European or other international students. The United States and some other western countries are at the extreme of individualism; whereas most Asian countries (e.g., Pakistan, Indonesia, South Korea, and China) show a strong collectivist orientation (Lustig & Koester, 2003). In addition to fulfilling basic study tasks, they also need to adapt to a sociocultural system that is different from their own (Zimmermann, 1995). International students have been studied frequently in the area of acculturation research. For example, Reece and Palmgreen (2000) conducted a survey of Indian international students to find actual

reflection of their need for acculturation and media usage. Yang et al. (2004) explored the relationship between the need for acculturation, acculturative motives, and media use among Chinese students in the U.S. For Internet research, Asian international students are appropriate population because Asian Americans are considered the most active group in going online for information gathering. For instance, Melkote and Liu (2000) found that many Chinese sojourners (e.g., international students, scholars, temporary workers in the U.S., and so on) often take advantage of the Internet as a new mass medium, and use it on a daily basis for doing research and for getting personal information, among other things. Based on Paige (2000)'s definition of international students, this study recruited East Asian international students who 1) have the temporary status of sojourners; 2) have the educational purpose of the sojourn; 3) and have the cultural backgrounds of East Asia (Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia). Immigrants and refugees were excluded in this study. Berry (1990) suggests that immigrants or an individual‘s refugee status alter their psychological orientation to the new country as well as how they are received, thus, students who 1) are immigrants, refugees or have permanent residence status (green card) of; 2) plan or hope to immigrate or obtain permanent residency in the U.S. were excluded in this research. Korean and Chinese international students of Florida State University were recruited for this study. In 2007, Florida State University consisted of approximately 2% international students. 1205 international students were enrolled, and 533 students came from Asia. Two hundred and fifty seven Chinese students (ranked first place), and 189 Korean students (ranked second place), enrolled in 2007 (http://www.internationalcenter.fsu.edu/documents/ICStudentFall2007Stats.pdf).

Sampling Purposeful and referral sampling strategies were undertaken in this research. The recruitment process was conducted either in person or by e-mail. A referral method (snowball sampling) was primarily applied to select the sample. Snowball sampling is the way to reach an elusive population, and it can result in a sample as variegated as one designed by the maximum variation method (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). Using snowball sampling allows the researcher to reach a wide range of characteristics of participants' Internet usage and acculturation. Studying these can build a conceptual understanding of the phenomenon (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). Once a respondent was located and interviewed, the researcher asked the respondent to give referrals to other possible respondents.

Purposive sampling occurs when the research purposefully chooses the participants, based on the criterion for the sample selection. In this case the sample consists of East Asian Individuals who temporarily stay in the U.S. for academic purposes, and have cultural backgrounds different from American students. Purposeful sampling can offer powerful and in-depth information related to the objects of the study (Patton, 2002). The FSU International coffee hour program, which takes place every Friday at the Center for Global Engagement, provided the researcher with a chance to meet possible interviewees. In fall 2009 to spring 2010, 15 to 20 international students, American students, and faculty members would show up and talk each Friday.

Sampling size Unlike quantitative studies, in which sample size is critically important in making decisions about statistical tests for calculating statistical power (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002), typically, qualitative research concentrates in depth on a comparatively small sample (Patton, 2002). Qualitative research aims to understand specific social phenomena, not to generalize them. The sample of this study is, thus, not intended to be representative. This case-oriented strategy allowed for detailed examination of individual respondents (Yin, 2003). The initial plan for sampling was 12 cases with respondents. In order to create equal numbers of cultural identification (CI) comparison groups for analysis, 4 heritage-oriented, 4 bicultural, and 4 mainstream-oriented respondents was the initially intended sample for this study. However, due to the absence of the mainstream-oriented CI group, the sample finally consisted of 6 participants of the heritage-oriented CI group and 7 participants of the bicultural CI group (See Table 1). Also, the sample was selected based on the result of VIA and participants‘ nationalities. The top three, who distinguished high differences between mean scores of heritage-oriented CI and mainstream- oriented CI questions, and the others, who showed similar mean scores of heritage-oriented and mainstream oriented CI questions, were selected from each Korean and Chinese group. These were two exclusions: M, a Vietnamese participant, was excluded because his nationality, and N was excluded because of her dual low CI scores. Thus, finally the interviews of 6 Koreans and 7 Chinese international students were coded for this study. Chapter four discusses the procedures of creating comparison groups in detail.

Table 1: Participants‘ information

Name Mean VIA Scores CI group Age/ Gender Nationality Exclu Heritage CI Mainstream CI sions 1 P 4.4 2.9 Heritage-oriented 28/male Korean 2 B 4.6 3.9 Heritage-oriented 29/female Korean 3 C 4.1 2.7 Heritage-oriented 26/male Korean 4 D 4.6 3.9 Heritage-oriented 25/female Chinese 5 E 3.9 3.0 Heritage-oriented 25/male Chinese 6 F 4.6 3.3 Heritage-oriented 25/male Chinese 7 G 3.2 2.8 Bicultural 25/female Korean 8 H 3.9 3.5 Bicultural 27/male Korean 9 Q 4.1 3.6 Bicultural 44/male Korean 10 J 3.9 3.4 Bicultural 24/male Chinese 11 K 3.5 3.3 Bicultural 24/male Chinese 12 L 3.6 3.3 Bicultural 25/female Chinese 13 M 3.9 3.0 Heritage-oriented 25/male Vietnamese O 14 N 2.9 2.8 Marginalized 24/female Chinese O 15 O 3.8 3.2 Bicultural 25/female Chinese *marked each CI on the basis of 5.0 points

Screening The main underlying assumption in this study was that sojourners feel some need to be acculturated, and this study explored participants‘ acculturation motives according to two domains of acculturation; the acquisition of new traits and maintenance of the heritage culture. This study borrowed Berry (1980)‘s two acculturation questions (see Figure 1), in order to screen individuals 1) who are marginalized from both the mainstream and native cultures; 2) those separated from the mainstream culture - when individuals place a value on holding on to their original culture, and at the same time wish to avoid interaction with others; 3) and those assimilated – who do not wish to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily interaction with other cultures (Berry, 1997). Integration (when there is an interest in both maintaining one‘s original culture while in daily interactions with other groups, so there is some degree of cultural integrity maintained, while at the same time seeking to participate as an integral part of the larger social network) usually shows the greatest substantial relationship with positive adaptation; marginalization is the least, and separation and assimilation are intermediate (Berry, 1997). The users‘ acculturation motives for the Internet use were the most important factor in this research, thus, individuals, who have negative attitudes toward either mainstream or heritage culture or

both, were excluded in order to examine acculturation motives and Internet use in terms of the acquisition of new traits and the maintenance of heritage.

Figure 1: Acculturation strategies

This study undertook two rounds of screening among participants. The first round of screening used Berry‘s two acculturation questions (see Appendix B part 1) ―Is it considered to be of value to maintain your heritage identity and characteristics?‖ and ―Is it considered to be of value to maintain with American society?‖ In this round, if individuals answered ―No‖ to either of the above questions, they would be left out of this research. However, no one marked ―No.‖ Participants chose ―Yes,‖ which implied they were integrated (see figure 1), interested in both the acquisition and the maintenance of both cultures. Then, the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (see Appendix B part 2) was applied in order to evaluate whether individuals have different cultural orientations (CI). This step enabled dividing participants into three comparison groups: the mainstream-oriented, bicultural and heritage-oriented.

Also, the VIA was applied for screening marginalized respondents. People who both scored low heritage and mainstream CI average scores (less than 2, Disagree) were determined as marginalized. Also, the questionnaire contains questions that screen people who wish or plan immigration or permanent residency in the U.S. (see questionnaire: 6. after the graduation, I am planning to or I hope to). This study excluded immigrants, refugees and sojourners who do not want go back home country. Their psychological status is more likely to be oriented to American culture (Berry, 1990; Paige, 1990).

The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) (Ryder, Alden, et al., 2000) is a validated self- report instrument for assessing bi-dimensional acculturation (heritage and mainstream dimensions); it predicts personality, self-identity, and psychosocial adjustment above and beyond simple demographic variables (Ryder et al., 2000). The VIA also accounts for more variance and allows for easier interpretation of effects than does the self-report measure of the unidimensional model (Borotto et al., 2005). The VIA provides two scores, one for mainstream cultural identification (CI) and another for heritage CI. Several domains relevant to acculturation, including values, social relationships, and adherence to tradition, are measured by 20 items (see Appendix B). The instrument has been found to have acceptable levels of reliability and validity (Ryder et al., 2000). Heritage culture was defined by the participant, while mainstream culture was defined as either Canadian for Canadian participants or Western for other participants. For the present sample, internal consistency (coefficient alpha) for personal mainstream CI was .83 and for personal heritage CI .90. Consistent with previous work (Ryder et al., 2000), the mainstream and heritage CI subscales were slightly negatively correlated, r (67) = - .29, p < .05. However, also consistent with previous work (Ryder et al., 2000), overlapping variance was less than 10% of the total variance, suggesting a substantial degree of independence among the constructs. One of the important advantages of the VIA is its brevity (Ryder et al., 2000). Although bidimensional measurement has been criticized for its length and complexity (Flannery, 1998), the VIA demonstrates that the bi-dimensional model can be reliably measured in several different ethnic groups with 10 pairs of straightforward items that tap core aspects of cultural identity. In terms of simplicity, the method used in the VIA may have the advantage of clarity over both the unidimensional and Berry‘s four-strategy measures (Ryder et al., 2000). To create three comparison groups (heritage culture-oriented, bicultural, and mainstream culture-oriented) for analysis, the VIA was applied in this study. The original VIA scores range from 1

(low identification) through 9 (high identification), but the score range in this study was modified to 1 (low identification) through 5 (high identification). Controversies over the appropriate number of scale points stem from different goals for the use of the scales. Based on Lehmann and Helbert‘s (1972) study, if the focus is on individual behavior, 5- to 7-point scales should be used. Increasing the number of scale points can reduce the rounding error because averaging tends to reduce the rounding error, but may also increase non-response bias and respondent fatigue (Lehmann et al., 1972). The VIA provides a chance to compare participants‘ use of the Internet in terms of their cultural identifications, which include cultural knowledge, behaviors, values, and social interaction preferences. CI in this study was examined as one of determinants that affect respondents‘ Internet usage patterns. The purpose of applying the VIA in this study was to examine how different cultural identifications are related to Internet behavior in terms of information seeking and social utility activities that are associated with acculturation motives.

Data Collection

In order to establish validity of this study, qualitative data was collected using two complementary methods: semi-structured in-depth interviews and observations.

Semi-structured In-depth Interviews Recruitment in this present study began reaching participants by contacting the researcher's own personal contacts. Also, the researcher attended the FSU Center for Global Engagement‘s Coffee Hour program on occasion to meet potential respondents. The interview as the main methodology in cross-cultural research is preferable because 1) the motivations to complete the questionnaire may be low, 2) many new phenomena may be observed and insights gained by talking to people in the field rather than by means of a structured questionnaire (Pareek & Rao, 1979). The primary objective of this research was to examine how East Asian international students demonstrated the acculturation process through their Internet usage patterns. Their acculturation motives and gratifications under the most common Internet activities, information seeking and social utility, were verified. Use of only a fixed survey with short answer questions or with multiple choices questions are more likely to result in a fragmentary examination of the acculturation process, which is a complex social and psychological phenomenon. For instance, an international student might

simply answer 'convenience' for the question which asked about reasons for using e-mail; however, the answer might include more specific or personal reasons for why it is convenient. The individual's preferences for writing rather than speaking English might be represented by the answer 'convenience of e-mail use'. This study aims to find specific and detailed information. The in-depth interview facilitates understanding the other person's inner view, comprehending the essence of an individual, or his or her emotions, motivations, and needs (Chirban, 1996). Thus, the interview method in this study facilitated finding hidden meanings of Internet use that lay under unclear statements of participants. The primary advantage of interviews is that they allow the researcher to focus on participants' perceptions of motives for American and ethnic media use rather than imposing the researcher's own category: need for acculturation. Interviews allow researchers and respondents to negotiate the meaning of the objects of inquiry (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002). This can lead to a new and more meaningful typology of participants' concerns (Bryman & Burgess, 1993). Also, the interview method allows variations of each interview based on interviewees‘ individual characteristics so that it helps focus on each case of Internet use and acculturation, thus this study can contribute to expanding knowledge of acculturation phenomena. According to Kim (1990), it is important to shift the focus from general characterizations of acculturation phenomena to a concern for the variation among individuals in the group undergoing acculturation. There are likely to be individual differences in the psychological characteristics that a person brings to the acculturation process and not every person will necessarily participate to the same extent in the process. The semi-structured in-depth interviews, with a fixed set of topics to discuss, were conducted with Asian international students, and is the primary research method adopted in this study. Most naturalistic researchers conduct semi-structured interviews by asking probing questions (Frey et al., 2000). The interview questions were developed to determine how motives for acculturation are involved in Asian international students' Internet use. Activities performed over English-language/native- language Internet will be demonstrated by questions from two applications of Internet use: 1) information seeking (e.g. reading newspaper online, or getting information about the U.S.); and 2) social utility (e.g. e-mail, instant messenger, personal blogs or social network sites). The frequency of the use and satisfaction and the credibility of these media were explained as well. The interview in this study followed a funnel format. The interview proceeded from broad and open questions to introduce the interview to narrower and closed questions to seek more specific information (Frey et al., 2000: 419-420). Follow-up questions were more focused and direct. The

19 interview began with general and open questions about participants‘ Internet use (e.g. ―What do you do on the net? Describe the internet activities you perform most often.‖), in order to screen participants mostly devoting themselves to satisfy entertainment needs for the Internet use. Information seeking activities on English-language/native-language Internet (e.g. ―Tell me about how you have learned about current political, economic or social situations and issues within the U.S on the net.‖), and social utility activities on English-language/native-language Internet (e.g. ―Tell me about your familiarity or frequency of use of e-mail, instant messenger, personal blogs or social network sites‖) introduced each of the topics of the interview (see Appendix C). Then specific and closed questions were presented to participants. The follow up questions were more focused and direct, asking for examples. For example, ―When is the last time you sent e-mail?‖, ―Describe experiences where information about the U.S. attained from the web helped or facilitated your life in the U.S.‖

The Location of Interviews In-depth interviews took place at the group study room on the first floor of Florida State University Strozier Library. Before each interview, the researcher reserved a study room. The study rooms were one of the most appropriate places to conduct FSU international students‘ interviews for the following reasons: 1) most interviewees were comfortable and familiar with the library; and 2) the study room was secure against other overhearing the conversation, so it was the perfect place to protect privacy. According to Lutynska (1970), respondents are likely to be affected by a public place because of concerns about others overhearing their responses, and Lutynska (1970) concluded that the most unbiased replies were found in homes and at workplaces. Thus, FSU or their homes may the best places international students to undertake conversational interviews. However, only FSU was used in this study (respondents‘ homes are not included) to strengthen the validity of the study. The consistency of the same interview condition is crucial to the validity of the study. Also, homes are excluded because respondents‘ home environments can also influence the researcher‘s observations.

Observation Observations were also used to collect data in this study to note not only observations of body language and other gestures that lend meaning to the words of the persons being interviewed (Angrosino, 2005), but also the settings on respondents‘ personal computers or laptops. Observation methods can

overcome some of the criticisms of quantitative research methods, such as validity or bias. Observation rests on ―something researchers can find constant,‖ and serves as ―the most powerful source of validation‖ (Adler & Adler, 1994). The interview was conducted with respondents‘ laptops or personal computers present. Respondents were asked to allow the researcher to observe details of laptop settings, such as the operating system languages on their laptop, Instant messenger settings (check ‗automatic log-on‘), favorite sites, address bar history, wallpapers, desktop shortcut icons, etc. The researcher took pictures of details of their laptop settings to provide a credible record for the analysis. As one of their personal belongings, laptops, which are indispensable for college students, can reflect individual characteristics. The researcher examined acculturation meanings or significance that under lay their laptop settings. Observations served to collect data about the Internet use that was part of their life in the U.S.

Procedure The interviews in this study began with the researcher‘s personal contacts: D and B. J, K and Q were recruited at Coffee Hour by the researcher, and the others were approached through referrals. The researcher sent an introductory email with an informal explanation of the research and the researcher‘s contact information. Before the interview began, research participants were asked to complete the questionnaire that came in two parts, and which usually took 10-15 minutes to administer. The first part gathered biographical information and screened those who were not interested in learning American cultures and who wished to immigrate or gain permanent residence status in the U.S., while the second part inquiry about the VIA and divided interviews into three CI groups (see Appendix B). Verification of CI groups was conducted after each interview had finished. This allowed the researcher to interview all participants without knowing their CI scores. This was important in that the researcher unintentional expectancy effect (also called the Rosenthal or Pygmalion effect) occurs in the research participants‘ responses by inadvertency letting them know the behavior they desire (Frey et al., 2000). The researcher may do this by unintentional kinetic cues and questions concerned only with their CI group that lead participants to respond in particular way. Information about participants‘ CI group may cause the researcher to bias the interview results. Respondents participated individually in the interview. They were asked to complete consent forms before conducting the interview. Interviews were conducted in English and Korean. Interviews

lasted approximately one to two hours. As expected the interview did not follow the topics in the same order as in the interview guide (see Appendix C), but the use of the interview guide ensured the researcher that every key point of the inquiry was covered. Each interview was conducted in a study room of Strozier library. The interviews were audio recorded with the interviewee's permission.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Since qualitative research is discovery oriented, the research design should be open to changes as the situation evolves and the understanding becomes deeper (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Data collection and analysis are open-ended. After each interview, the researcher started the analysis.

Coding Process Notes from the interview and audio-recordings were used in the qualitative data analysis. In order to present the data in a synthetic, relevant, and creative way, this study discusses the topic and themes that emerge from the open, axial, and selective coding process. Initially, the researcher broke the data into small pieces, noting that concepts that emerged, which then were provisionally sorted into categories. The categories emerged purely from the data. Then, in order to determine relationships and possible groupings, the provisional categories were examined and compared with each other to identify natural groupings that existed (Goddard, 2004). The researcher analyzed each category using the axial coding procedure so that the provisional categories were examined and compared with each other to identify any natural groupings that existed. Also, higher order connections between categories were discovered. The final procedure was the process of selective coding. This requires the selection of the focal core category of the central phenomenon which have emerged from the axial coding process (Goddard, 2004).

Groups for Comparison The cultural identification (CI) from the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA; see Appendix B) was applied to compare the results. Respondents‘ cultural heritages (Korean and Chinese) were used for comparisons as well. Although Asian students hold in certain common cultural backgrounds, such as cooperation verses and competition (Lynch, 1992), collectivism and hierarchy relationships verses individualism and equal relationships (Sue & Sue, 1999), their heritage cultures have subtle but clear

differences. Yeh and Inose (2002) studied mental health concerns and coping strategies of Korean, Japanese and Chinese immigrant students. They found that the most common problem across three all Asian immigrants groups was communication difficulties, but Japanese students were more likely to experience interpersonal communication problems than were their Chinese and Korean counterparts. They concluded that Japanese self-controls are relationally bound, so it could result in interpersonal problems with more independence-oriented Americans. Ethnicity comparisons can provide a chance to establish more concrete interpretations. The VIA provides two scores, one for mainstream cultural identification (CI) and another for heritage cultural identification (CI). Scores can range from 1 (low identification) to 5 (high identification). All odd numbered questions reflect statements endorsing identity with heritage (e.g., ''I often participate in my heritage cultural traditions''), and all even-numbered questions reflect mainstream culture identification (e.g., ''I believe in mainstream North American values''). Means of heritage and mainstream CI items entered into analyses, with higher means indicating greater identification with each domain. The researcher created three groups based on the results of the VIA:

1) Heritage culture oriented (mean score for heritage's CI >> mean score for mainstream CI): These are the respondents who score heritage's CI much higher than mainstream CI. 2) Bicultural (mean score for heritage CI = mean scores for mainstream CI): These are the respondents who score heritage's CI similar to mainstream's CI. 3) Mainstream culture oriented (mean score for heritage's CI << mean score for mainstream CI): These are the respondents who score mainstream's CI much higher than heritage's CI.

The heritage culture oriented group is composed of individuals who show the tendency to have attitudes, values, and social relationships adhered to the heritage culture. For example, they might participate in their heritage cultural traditions more than Americans or they are interested in having friends from their culture more than Americans. The second group is bicultural individuals. Bicultural groups members are expected to have values that are a combination of those of the culture of origin and the host society (Kara & Kara, 1996). The mainstream culture oriented international students constitute the last group. They enjoy or are comfortable interacting with typical American people more than with people from the same heritage culture.

However, a mainstream oriented CI group was not found. Thus, this study is based on the results of comparisons of the heritage culture oriented group and the bicultural group. The later chapter discusses how participants were categorized into each group and shows their cultural orientations in details.

Reporting the Findings

This study applied a thematic structure to discuss the topics and themes that emerged from the data analysis (Frey et al., 2000). Theme identifications and patterns were demonstrated by a constant comparative method. The findings in this research are presented as follows: first, the details of the heritage-oriented CI group and the bicultural CI group that includes participants‘ CI scores, nationality, gender and age; second, the summary of six main findings is demonstrated; and third the evidence for the findings and the links to the theories are presented.

CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The purpose of this research was to understand the meaning of Internet usage for Korean and Chinese international students in certain specific areas, namely, information-seeking activities, social- utility activities, and use of English-language Internet versus native-language Internet. The goal was to gain insight into how the ongoing acculturation motives among international students influence Internet usage patterns. By comparing participants with heritage-oriented cultural identification (CI) to those with bicultural CI, and their respective Internet usage, the researcher sought to understand which aspects of Internet use relect the acculturation process with respect to maintenance of heritage identities and adaptation to U.S. culture. The results reported here were based on 12 interviews completed as of late February 2010. This chapter provides a discussion of six findings as they relate to the research questions. Finding 1 involves details of comparison groups applied in this study. Findings 2, 3, and 4 relate to Internet use for social purposes. Findings 5 and 6 contain the results of participants‘ information gathering on the Internet. Finally, the chapter provides an analysis of four major themes based on the six findings.

Findings

Finding 1. The study found the heritage-oriented and the bicultural CI comparison groups. This study applied to two CI comparison groups: the heritage-oriented CI and the bicultural CI groups. The design of the questionnaire for the study allowed for a choice of appropriate interviewees from three different CI groups; however, a mainstream- oriented CI group was not found. No participants scored mainstream CI items higher than heritage CI items (see table 1, page 22). All participants have heritage-oriented CI mean scores higher than mainstream-oriented CI, although the differences varied. In order to create two CI comparison groups consisted of Korean and Chinese participants, the following three steps were applied in this study. First, the researcher examined CI mean scores of participants. N was screened out of this research because of her both low heritage and mainstream CI results. She was considered as marginalized (see chapter 3 Screen, page 20): she showed few interests in both learning new culture and sustaining heritage identities. Her mean scores, 2.9 for heritage and 2.8 for maintenance, were close to

Neutral (3), but she kept brief replies to interview questions. For example, she did not provide any specific examples of her Internet experiences, and total interview time was 35 minutes and14 seconds, so N was not a desirable participant for this study. Second, the researcher divided the 14 participants into two different national groups: Koreans and Chinese. In this stage, M was excluded because he was the only Vietnamese participant in this study. The researcher failed to recruit enough Vietnamese participants to create a comparison group. Lastly, she lined up participants in each group by nationality in order of mean differences. The three highest in each group were categorized into the heritage-oriented CI comparison group, and the other lowest of CI mean differences were placed in the bicultural CI comparison group. Participants who have mean differences between from 0.2 to 0.5 were considered as bicultural CI group, and those mean differences more than 0.6 were into heritage-oriented CI group (see Table 2).

Table 2. Cultural identification (CI) comparison groups

The heritage-oriented group The bicultural group

name Heritage/Mainstream Mean Name Heritage/Mainstream Mean

CI difference CI difference Korean P 4.4/2.9 1.5 G 3.2/2.8 0.4 B 4.1/3.9 0.6 H 3.9/3.5 0.4 C 4.1/2.7 1.4 Q 4.1/3.6 0.5 Chinese D 4.6/3.9 0.7 J 3.9/3.4 0.5 E 3.9/3.0 0.9 K 3.5/3.3 0.2 F 4.6/3.3 1.3 L 3.6/3.3 0.3 O 3.8/3.2 0.6 *marked each CI on the basis of 5.0 points

The VIA CI scores range from 1 (strongly disagree) through 5 (Strongly agree) (see Appendix C). The higher the CI mean score, the stronger cultural identifications toward heritage or mainstream culture. The closer heritage and mainstream CI mean scores indicated participants‘ similar cultural identifications toward heritage and mainstream culture.

Finding 2. The Internet is used for social interaction and expression. Socially active participants were more engaged in Internet social utility activities, particularly, social networking websites and instant messaging. Respondents who often participated in social events 26 and gatherings in the U.S. were highly involved in the use of Facebook and MSN instant messengers. The frequency of use and time spent on those events indicated the level of activeness of their social interactions. For most of the participants, the use of social networking websites and instant messengers improved their social relationships in the United States. P (28, heritage-oriented CI, Korean) was eager to participate in social events and make friends. He has learned Salsa by going to a dance club every Friday, is a member of a Korean baseball club, and attends to parties often. He noted that he has developed relationships with the American people he has met at various social events by using Facebook, which took up more than 60% of his total Internet consumption. When he was in Korea, he did not use Cyworld (Korean social networking website). In Korea, also, many people loved to post their pictures and left messages for friends on social networking sites, but he said that he was not that kind of person. He preferred making appointments by phone and talking while drinking. However, here, face-to-face socializing was difficult for him because of the language and cultural differences. He felt more comfortable and confident when he communicated with Americans through the chat windows or by exchanging messages. P described his Facebook use as follows: Were it not for Facebook, I could not be close to them [his American friends] as now. Comments for pictures, messages in my Wall [a space on every user's profile page that allows friends to post messages for the user to see] or party and event notices makes me feel more connected with them. (translated from Korean: 페이스이 없었다면, 친들과 지금처럼 친해지지 못했겠죠. 페이스 게물의 댓글이나 방명, 대장 등등을 쓰다 보면 더 까워지는 것 같아요.)

He demonstrated that his difficulties because of cultural and language differences were somewhat compensated by using the Internet. Postings on Facebook provided a chance for him to get to know his new friends better: ―Pictures, diaries or [even] short comments show what kind of people they are. I can see what they [his friends] do or think, so I can easily find conversation pieces and topics that help our face-to-face hangout (translated from Korean: 페이스의 댓글, 기 같은 것 어 보면 그들이 어떤 사람 인 알기 쉬워요. 그래서 만나서 놀 때 얘기할 거리도 많아지고……).‖ Also, the use of Facebook enlarged the sphere of interpersonal communications, and P explained further:

The most thing [I like about Facebook] is that I can reach them [his friends] anytime I want. […] The influence of leaving messages or comments on actual relationships is strong as an actual hangout. (translated from Korean: 장 좋은 은 아무 때나 사람들과 할 수 있다는 이에요 […] 페이스에서 메지나 댓글 남기는 은 진짜 만나는 것만큼 깝게 느껴집니다. )

Also, F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese) enjoyed socializing with new people of different academic backgrounds. He stated that he loved to discuss various topics. He even wanted to talk with the researcher about the influence of the Internet in China and Korea after the interview. He was very enthusiastic about learning new things in every sphere of life. F described his interests as follows: I‘m interested in everything. […] I want to learn as much as possible in the U.S. I‘m very active in my class, and I love to discuss. […] My roommate is majoring in architecture, and I have learned a lot from him. […] I go to church even I‘m not a Christian. Church people are usually welcoming and happy to talk to newcomers. I think church is the best place to meet older Americans. I want to learn wisdom and values from their life experiences.

F was a member of the humanitarian discussion group that met every Friday through MSN‘s Instant Messenger. Topics and summaries of previous discussions were provided to members by e-mail. He was highly engaged in the use of instant messengers. He used two instant messengers: MSN for his American colleagues and friends and QQ messenger (Chinese instant messenger) for his Chinese friends in China. Usually, he kept his messenger log-on status as long as he used the laptop. However, Q (44, bicultural CI, Korean) revealed that he was engaged in e-mail use only for his schoolwork. His wife and a child had moved to the U.S. with him, when he started his graduate study here. He did not get along with others often. Mostly, his life was jointly focused on his academic achievement and his family. I described it this way: My son is in the same class as one of my department professor‘s son. [...] We knew that in the parents‘ meeting. This family is [the only one] I personally socialize with [out of the college]. (translated from Korean: 우리 아들이 우리 과 교수 아들이랑 같은 반이에요. […] 모 모 갔다 우연히 알게 됐어요. 이 족과는 [족끼리] 잘 만나요.)

Also, C (26, heritage-oriented CI, Korean) showed similar Internet use patterns with Q (44, bicultural CI, Korean). He was involved in only e-mail use. He was mostly involved in socializing with Korean students in here: he went to a Korean church and in a member of Korean students‘ soccer club. He did not have any difficulties or hesitations in communicating with his American class mates, but he was not feeling up to making efforts to build close relationships with Americans. He noted that socializing with Americans would need more efforts than Koreans because of culture and language differences, so he preferred to hang out with Koreans he was comfortable with. The researcher sensed that J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) and C had somewhat similar points in terms of the life focus. J explained his life focus: ―I came here to study. […] I met one of my high school alumni in here [J didn‘t know his friend in China, and his friend also was a FSU graduate student], and we are very close now.‖ He wanted good relationships with his classmates and professors, but was not willing to develop those relationships in to more personal and closer bonds. J was engaged in e-mail use to communicate with classmates and professors. L (25, bicultural CI, Chinese) was the participant who most preferred to socialize with people of the same ethnicity. She made only a few Chinese friends, although it had been seven months since she came to the U.S. She noted that she barely sent e-mails or used other Internet communication applications to communicate with people: ―I do not feel any needs to use e-mail to my friend [here]. […] I just make a call.‖ She only checked e-mails of announcements or notifications from the department.

The Heritage-oriented CI group was more eager to communicate with American society The heritage-oriented CI participants showed a stronger need for acculturation than did than the bicultural group. Despite the expectation that the heritage-oriented CI group was less eager to learn new values, there were no comments that revealed these participants associated conservatism, or unwillingness to accept changes or new ideas, with learning American culture. In addition, they were very enthusiastic about experiencing new cultural practices and curious about American society as much as they highly valued the maintenance of their own ethnic cultural traits. One statement came from a heritage-oriented CI participant F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese) talking about his culture and American culture. He demonstrated his attitudes toward learning new cultural traits. He has both interests and criticisms in learning the American culture, which stemmed from his firm understanding of his own culture: ―I am partially interested in learning American culture. I just want to learn good features. For example, these days craftsmanship has been missing in China. Everybody wants to get a

29 job that guarantees good pay. I heard that craftsmanship is still highly acclaimed in other countries. […] I am interested in American individualism. […] However, I don‘t think I will learn eating behaviors here.‖ They were highly involved in the use of social networking sites and instant messengers that supported opportunistic interactions with Americans. On the other hand, the bicultural CI group was indifferent to either learning new cultural ideas or maintaining their own ethnic identities. Most of their average scores for both heritage-oriented CI and mainstream-oriented CI ended up at around 3, Neutral (see Table 2, page 26). Although interviews and the researcher‘s observations revealed that participants primarily used the Internet for academic research such as reading journal articles, book chapters, or Google search, the bicultural CI group adhered more to the Internet use for academic purposes. D (25, bicultural, Chinese), for example, cited that her Internet use primarily was concentrated in www.google.com, www.wikipedia.com and www.dictionary.com for her studies. The findings paralleled the work of Kraut et al. (2002), in which they revisited their initial claims about the Internet Paradox, a social technology that increases social isolation and thereby decreases psychological well-being (Krauts et al., 1998), and discovered that some Internet use was positively related to communication, integration, and well-being. A later chapter will discuss this issue in more detail.

Finding 3. Communication with their home countries: the emotional connection

Communicate with family at home Some participants in this study depicted the emotional connections that they had to their parents at home. The use of phones and video chat on instant messengers were the most prevalent. Respondents preferred to use cell phones to get in touch with their parents. Their parents‘ generation was more familiar with the telephone than with the Internet. The affordable price of international phone cards and the familiarity and simplicity of using phone appliances were the other reasons why participants used cell phones when they talked to their parents. Since one can hear the sounds and thereby may feel the emotions of communication partners more easily and hence is able to become emotionally closer to the other, a telephone is preferred for family communications. J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese), for instance, regularly contacted to his family in China every Sunday. Family member‘s activities, community news in his hometown and his days here were topics for family communications. G (25, bicultural CI, Korean)

30 was a user of Internet phone service (Voice over Internet Protocol: VolP) that is transported via the Internet, rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Internet phones look exactly the same as normal home phones and work the same, but connect to the Internet. The most noticeable benefit of the use of VolP service is that it provides service free of charge between the users. All Korean respondents were familiar with Internet phone services, and reported that the use of Internet phone was common in Korean society. However, G (25, bicultural CI, Korean) was the only actual user of the service among 6 Korean participants in this study. She talked to her family in Korea whenever she wants for free. However, she only used Internet phone for communication with her family: ―Communication with my friends in home is enough through the Internet. I‘m here, so I want to spend more time with friends here.‖ The results of this study showed that video (webcams) chat on the net exceeded the advantages that telephone participants listed: affordable price for international phone cards price and voice-to-voice closer emotional connections. All respondents were informed about what Skype is and how it works, but only one respondent, J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) was a user of Skype. Because video chatting is supported by instant messengers, most messenger users used video chatting on the messengers instead. The use of video chatting on instant messengers, which supported audio and video service, was prevalent among participants. It was the simultaneity of video chatting, enabling people to talk and watch each other, which appealed to them. Respondents also revealed that the availability free of charge was attractive. B (29, heritage-oriented CI, Korean) usually did video chatting with her fiancé in Korea during whole the weekend. She believed that video chatting helped maintain her relationship. She felt closer to him. B described that process as follows: We turn on the video chatting windows and speakers during whole the weekend, and we just do what we need to do, such as work, study, or sleep. Because of the time difference [between Seoul and here], when I sleep, he is awake, or because of things to do, there is not much enough time to talk, […] but in this way, I feel that I can spend weekends with him, just as what we did before [in Seoul]. (translated from Korean: 보통 주말에는 그냥 계속 켜놔요. 그냥 켜두고 자고, 공고, 나고, 뭐 자 할 해요. 차 있으니까 내 잘 때 그 사람은 깨어있고 아니면 뭐 약속 때문에 나거나 그래서 [주말] 내내 얘기는 건 아니에요. […] 그래도 이렇게 면 같이 있는 것 같아요.)

L (25, bicultural CI, Chinese) shared very strong bonds with her parents. Especially, communication with her mother was very important in living alone in a foreign country. To her, the influence of her mother was determinant in the way she lives. This was not surprising because all Chinese participants in this study were the only children (the Chinese government controls population growth with the one-child policy), and Chinese participants stated that parents were usually deeply involved in their children‘s lives in many aspects, such as education, marriage or career. She talked about everything that happened here with her mother and her mother‘s advice is important to her: ―I tell my mother everything […] She encourages me to deal with problems and things in here.‖ She did video chat on QQ messenger whenever she was available. She preferred the use of video chat to telephones because she can see her mother and father talking.

Communication with friends at home However, when it came to communication with their friends at home, respondents preferred using text-based instant messaging on instant messengers, such as MSN, QQ and Nate-On (Korean instant messenger). The best feature encouraging the use of instant messengers depicted by participants in this study was connectivity. Respondents felt connected to their friends in their home countries as long as the messenger was turned on. F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese) commented that he felt connected with his friends in China when he used the instant messenger. The connectivity of instant messengers compensated for his feeling of being isolated in the U.S. The following comments reveal that this feeling of being connected to people is closely associated with the use of instant messengers. F explained: Logging on for 24 hours does not mean that I chat for 24 hours. Usually, I just turn on the messenger and do my research or schoolwork. When I chat, mostly I spend only 3-5 minutes. 5 minutes is enough to talk about trivial daily things. […] However, the reason why I keep the log-on status is that my friends‘ online status signals give me relief and the comfort that I can talk whenever I want.

G (25, bicultural CI, Korea) pointed out the emotional distance on the net. She did not have feeling of being far away from her friends in Korea. She used to communicate with her friends with Cyworld (Korean social network site) and cell phones in Korea, but the aspects of her friendships were not much different here. She barely called her friends in her home, but she still accessed Cyworld

32 frequently. She loved to take pictures of her life here and post them on the net to share with her friends in Korea. The following is her description of psychological distance on the net: Of course, there are my best friends I call or text everyday [in Korea], but we could not see each other often because we were all busy. […] There is the Pacific Ocean between them [her friends] and I, but the distances [between her friends and she] on the net are still the same. (translated from Korean: 물론 매 친들이랑 전화고 문자 보냈지만 어차피 자주 만나지는 못했어요. 다들 바쁘니까 […] 간 맞추기 어려워요 […] 지금은 태평양을 사이에 두고 멀리 떨어져 있지만, 인터넷상에서는 한에서나 여기나 똑같아요.)

The way to communicate with home country of heritage-oriented and bicultural CI groups Noticeable differences or similarities of use of the Internet in communication with their home country between these two different groups were not found. The frequency of communication and the preference of communication modes were based on individual differences. The feeling of being connected found in this study corresponds with the findings that ethnic media consumption helps the acculturation process. Ethnic media help people feel closeness to their ethnic groups, relieve the pressures that sojourners feel in dealing with the host environment (Ward & Kennedy, 1994), and help them to cope with uncertainties of the new environment. This research showed that instant messengers and social networking sites made it possible to maintain relationships with people that participants could not see on a daily basis, and help to decrease acculturation stress came from sense of uprootendess (Deusen, 1982; King, 1984; Krause, 1978), thus facilitating adaptation.

Finding 4. Communication with American society

Use of instant messengers Also, instant messengers were used to communicate with American society with the purpose of working efficiency. K (24, bicultural, Chinese), for instant, reported that he usually talked to his coworkers through instant messengers even they were all in the lab. Exchanging text messages on the net saved time to exchange opinions and make group decisions: ―we [he and his lap colleagues] briefly send messages about our work or papers, and go back to work promptly.‖ H (27, bicultural, Korean) began to use MSN‘s messengers after he made his American friends here. He only used the Nate-On messenger (Korean instant messenger) when he was in Korea. Also, P (28, heritage-oriented, Korean)

noted an advantage of instant messengers was that delivery of the meaning of messages was clearer and easier than face-to-face conversation.

Use of e-mail This study revealed that the use of e-mail performed informational support for participants. All respondents commented that e-mail was the most helpful and useful communication application in connections with American society because written forms of English were more accurate and convenient for delivering their meaning than spoken forms of communication. They usually used e-mail for official, academic, and formal purposes. Most of participants had more than two e-mail addresses, and one of them was the college e-mail address that was associated with their school work or communication with people from the school. D (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) used e-mail primarily for communication with her Chinese class students. However, some Chinese participants in this study noted that they were not accustomed to receiving school announcements and notifications through e-mail. There are not many Chinese colleges that use e-mail primarily to communicate with students. L (25, bicultural CI, Chinese) revealed that she started to check e-mail daily since she came here: ―Most people in here use e-mail. That is why I use it.‖

Finding 5. News reading online is related to ones individual habits

Informing oneself of current social or political events was not associated with a need for acculturation. Eight of the interviewees responded that they were not interested in reading current news either of the U.S. or their home countries. Reading news behavior thus was associated with ones personal characteristics and lifestyle. For instance, D (25, bicultural CI, Chinese) and F (24, heritage- oriented CI, Chinese) did not have any interests in news reading. They stated:

I‘m not an American citizen. Most events do not have any direct influences on me…. [however] I‘m interested in American viewpoints toward Chinese social and political events. For example, I keep reading news articles about Tibetan resistance last year. (D, 25, bicultural CI, Chinese)

I do not have any interest in news in the U.S. or even in China. […] Only information about job markets or economic situations that will influence my career after earning my Ph.D. degree is my interest. (F, 24, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese)

However, for Q (44, bicultural CI, Korean), reading news was a big part of his life routine: ―Reading news is more like my habit. […] Informing myself what is going on in Korea is really important for me. (translated from Korean: 뉴스 는 건 습관이에요. […] 한에서 지금 무슨 이 어나고 있나 매 는 것은 중요한 중 나니다).‖ Also, J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) noted that reading news took up 10-20 percent of his total Internet consumption and it was his habit. P (28, heritage-oriented CI, Korean) spent his leisure time reading news articles: ―I usually read sports and entertainment news articles for fun (translated from Korean: 재미 어요 보통 스포츠나 연예기사).‖ Those three daily news readers‘ reading was the very first Internet behavior every time they access the web. Their accounts gave the impression that news reading behavior was a warm-up behavior for the Internet use before they begin in earnest their work on the net.

Finding 6. The Internet use for research

Google use Respondents‘ information seeking activities were found mostly on Google. Especially high credibility on Google was found among all Chinese participants. Although they were also employed in Chinese web portals, such as www.tudou.com or www.baidu.com, they responded that they used Google the most because they believed Google was the most reliable, accurate and fastest search engine. K (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) described that his use of Google took up more than 90 % of his total use of web portals. J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) thought reading news on Google was very convenient because the news was already selected based on its recentness and importance, and it was usually updated very often. Also, F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese) pointed out the accuracy of Google: He stated that sometimes it happened that information was screened on Chinese Internet. Some information was omitted or misdirected by Chinese government or Webpage masters. Historically, China blocked Youtube, during Tibetans riots in 2009.

Google is my starting point…. I [would] give [Google] a 10 out of 10. (F, 25, heritage- oriented CI, Chinese)

High credibility of Google Responding to a scenario that was presented by the interviewer, the authenticity of the report of the invention of the perfect cure of H1N1 from a co-worker (see Appendix D), all Chinese participants responded that they would go Google and find out the truth about the news. If there was no information about the news, they would stop trying to determine whether or not the news was true. J (24, heritage- oriented CI, Chinese) described: If there were no matching results on Google [about the given scenario], I would stop searching. […] Because I‘m sure that the news may be too new, so the information would nowhere to be had.

On the other hand, Korean informants‘ responses were diverse. F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Korean) and H (27, bicultural, Korean) responded that he would visit www.naver.com (Korean web portal), Q (44, bicultural CI, Korean) would try to find the news on Yahoo, Naver and Google, G (28, bicultural CI, Korean) chose both Google and www.newyorktimes.com, and P (28, heritage-oriented CI, Korean) would search scholarly journals and research articles related to the news.

Other reasons of Google use Also, the improvement of English was another reason for Google use. L (25, bicultural CI, Chinese) chose Google to expose herself to technical terms and phrases related to her major in English more often. In addition, the involvement of e-mail (www.gmail.com), reading news (there is the link for news at Google home page), and researches (for journal articles, books or information related with their study) were accompanied by Google use.

Discussion

Most of the findings of this study supported findings from previous studies of the same issues. The results primarily showed how social utility Internet activities provide emotional, informational and opportunistic support. However, the present study found some unexpected results that have not been

examined in previous studies. For example, this study found that international students with strong identification toward ethnic culture are more socially active in the U.S. and this activeness is reflected in their social utility Internet activities.

The Absence of a Mainstream-oriented CI Group The results of this study indicated that Korean and Chinese international students are not oriented toward North American culture, although they are interested in learning new culture. No mainstream-oriented CI group was found; no one scored mainstream CI items higher than heritage CI items on the questionnaire. Their identifications toward heritage culture were found in their laptop settings, as well. Twelve participants in this study set their laptops in their native language, and only one participant, J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese), set English. Eleven participants owned laptops bought in their county, and two people, J (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) and L (25, bicultural CI, Chinese), purchased them here. L changed her laptop‘s original language setting (English) into Chinese, but J kept the original language setting. F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinses) used both Chinse and English. He used the multi linguistic operating program that allows Internet Window menus to appear in English while the Internet browser menu is in Chinese. The researcher concluded that there were two possible reasons for the absence of such a mainstream-oriented CI group. First, the respondents were temporary sojourners. Most respondents were highly conscious that they would eventually return to their countries and that their period of study in the U.S. was critical to their future careers. Learning a new culture is not a necessary matter for international students. In contrast, permanent immigrants might have a different cultural orientation. Adjustment is an urgent matter in many aspects of their lives in new society. This finding corresponds with Berry (1990) that immigrants or individual refugee status alters the personal psychological orientation to a new country as well as how immigrants and refugees are received. Second, the questionnaire‘s design might have caused the lower mainstream CI scores. The structure of Part 2 in the VIA offered items presented in pairs with regard to content area, with one item in each pair referring to one‘s own culture and the other item referring to North American culture (see Appendix B). This design allowed participants to compare each pair of questions simultaneously, and they might have chosen a lower score for an American CI item just after scoring the same question for their own culture. The study showed that participants‘ ethnic identification and cultural ties are strong

regardless of their CI. Certainly, participants are less familiar with mainstream America than their own culture; no participants have lived in the U.S. longer than 16 months.

Social Interactions and Expressions The chief conclusion about heritage-oriented international students who participated in this study was that they are motivated to achieve acculturation. This was demonstrated by their curiosity about American culture and their actual involvement in American society, which are positive factors in the acculturation process and their more active involvement with Internet social-utility activities, in contrast to bicultural participants. Despite the expectation that heritage-oriented people would be less eager to learn a new culture, participants were enthusiastic to experience the new culture while maintaining their own ethnic culture. However, as Sussman (2002) pointed out, heritage cultural identity is often not salient while the person resides in his or her home culture, but becomes more salient once a person resides in a foreign cultural environment. Turner (1987) suggested that local and international ties should enhance newcomers‘ heritage cultural identity by giving them opportunities to compare their heritage culture with out-groups‘ cultures, leading them to recognize their cultural uniqueness. Thus, with Turner‘s point of view, heritage-oriented CI participants‘ strong identities toward native culture in this study could be interpreted as one of indicators of their interests and understanding in both native culture and American culture. Participants who tended to uphold their ethnic culture clearly understood why maintaining their heritage orientation was important to them; they also had clear ideas about which American cultural values they wanted to learn and why. Their use of the Internet reflected their positive attitudes toward both cultures. These participants were active on Facebook and actively used instant messengers to communicate with American society. This finding was consistent with the work by Shah et al. (2002), who proved a positive relationship between frequency of Internet use and community engagement behaviors. The most common Internet behaviors, social communication and information searching, were positively and significantly related to both traditional civic participation and public attendance. However, the bicultural group in this study, whose scores stayed around 3 (or neutral; see Table 2), showed quite an indifferent attitude toward both cultures and used the Internet mostly for academic research purposes. All 13 respondents had noticeably high research motivations for Internet use, high reliability, and heavy use of Google, which corresponds to the uses and gratification theory. Based on observation of the interviewees‘ laptops, the researcher sensed that the life of the interviewees was

highly focused on their studies. More than 50 shortcut icons, linked to word documents, PDF files, and Web pages, covered almost half of F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese) and K‘s (24, bicultural CI, Chinese) laptop wallpaper. F stated that more than 70% of his total Internet consumption consists of searching for information. Also, Q (44, bicultural CI, Korean), who rarely becomes involved in Internet social-utility activity, demonstrated his orientation for research through his favorite sites list and address bar.

Social Support and Social Utility Activities

Emotional Support The results of this study suggested that the use of instant messengers provides participants with the feeling of being connected to their origins. Respondents noted that they maintain their log-on status even when they do not intend to chat. In contrast, some previous research showed that users find instant messengers‘ connectivity annoying (Isaacs et al., 2002; Dwyer, 2007) or invasive of personal privacy. Although the majority of participants in those studies reported at least one incidence of blocking to prevent another user from viewing their presence online and sending messages to them (Dwyer, 2007), no participants in this study expressed complaints or discontent about instant messengers. The sense of connectivity found in this study had a positive effect on participants‘ acculturation process. The acculturative stress - the pressure of coping with the host environment, uncertainties, and a sense of uprootedness - was relieved by emotional and appraisal support from family members and friends in participants‘ home countries. Respondents in this study felt closeness through Internet communication just as they do through face-to-face communication. The results of this study indicated that cell phone use and Internet video chat are dominant in communication with family members. Respondents attain the emotional support and the feeling of being connected by hearing the voices of their loved ones and seeing them via electronic video applications. Video chat on instant messengers provides opportunities to experience closer family cohesion; respondents use cell phones or video chat to communicate with family member more than one time per week. The communication with family at home covers a greater diversity of conversation topics, uses a greater number of relational maintenance themes, and has a greater level of openness in communicative exchanges. This partially corresponded to Kline et al.‘s (2005) finding that Chinese international students prefer to use and do use the telephone more often than e-mail to contact family members. They

pointed out that the telephone is preferred over other communication appliances as an efficient communication channel for conveying personal feelings and views. In this research, respondents were more satisfied using video chats than they were using telephones because with video chats they can watch their communication partners and the service is inexpensive.

Informational Support E-mail is the most popular online application (Kraut et al., 1997; U.S. Department of Commerce, 2002). However, previous research revealed that in one-to-one comparisons, an e-mail message is not as useful as a phone call or a face-to-face meeting for developing and sustaining social relationships (Cummings et al., 2002). Relationships maintained primarily over the Internet are not as close as those sustained by other means. However, international students in this study demonstrated different aspects of e-mail use. Listservs, which are not as valuable as small groups for establishing a sense of identity and belonging and for gaining social support (Cummings et al., 2002), provided valuable informational support to respondents in this study. Most participants said they prefer communication through e-mails to face-to- face communication. Because of language and culture differences, international students often experience inconvenience in interpersonal interactions; however, informational support is one type of social support (House, 1981) that enhances the acculturation process. Continuous information about the new environment discovered via the Internet helps international students adjust to their new environment.

Information Seeking Internet Activities Most information seeking activities were performed with academic motives. Participants in this research revealed that they usually asked practical information of living in the U.S from their friends or colleges in the U.S. Also, they gave physical help each other, such as giving rides, moving help, or being a guarantor for a housing contract. They usually began their new life in the U.S. with other students already settled here, so they did not feel the need to search information about new environment on the net. However the result of this research includes one participant, P (28, heritage-oriented CI, Korean), who responded that he searched practical information on the net frequently, he lived with Korean students during his first month here.

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

This chapter provides a summary of the main findings of this study to answer the research questions: RQ1: How do Internet activities reflect acculturation motives in terms of acquisition of new cultural traits and maintenance of heritage culture? RQ2: How are the acculturation motives reflected in the use of the Internet in terms of Internet type (English-language/native-language)? The chapter also contains a discussion of the limitations of this study, methodological issues, and suggestions for future research.

RQ1: How do Internet activities reflect acculturation motives in terms of acquisition of new cultural traits and maintenance of heritage culture?

For international students in this study, the years of living in the U.S. are meant to build important academic foundations that might have a direct effect on both the students‘ future careers and personal lives. They came to a foreign country after they had established social and cultural identities, and they came with a clear goal in mind. Also, their temporary status reinforces the notion that they do not belong in the U.S. This, in turn, strengthens their primary purpose for being here. Thus, international students‘ motives to be acculturated are not strong enough to be reflected in their social use of the Internet; the Internet is seen mostly as an essential academic tool. This was confirmed by the findings of this study regarding the lack of a mainstream-oriented CI group and participants‘ strong research motives for information-seeking Internet activities. It is noteworthy that participants said they use the Internet primarily for academic research. In contrast to the researcher‘s expectation that participants would obtain practical or cultural information about living in the U.S., such as getting a driver‘s license or housing contract, via the Internet, most participants in this study received that information and help right after their arrival in the U.S. from Korean or Chinese students who had already settled here. However, the results showed that the social-utility activities participants engaged in were strongly associated with the need for acculturation. The use of networking sites, instant messengers, and e-mail plays a crucial role in participants‘ communication with both American society and their home

country. Online behaviors not only complement limited communication, but also strengthen interpersonal and social relationships with both home and host countries. Compared to the bicultural CI group, the heritage-oriented group demonstrated much stronger acculturation motives to use the Internet for the acquisition of new culture, one dimension of acculturation (Berry, 1980). The fulfillment of interpersonal needs was revealed by social and interpersonal activeness, curiosity about American people and culture, high pride in their home country, and criticisms of both American and ethnic culture. Participants who showed deep interest in experiencing new culture generally felt high confidence in their own culture. These participants are active in both real-life communication and computer-mediated communication with American society. This corresponded to the findings of Shah et al. (2002) that positive relationships exist between frequency of Internet use and community engagement behaviors. Also, participants in this study stated that online activities make their social involvement here much easier; they are more comfortable socializing on the Internet than in face-to-face interactions. However, those who participated in online social activities expanded this openness into real-life conversations. They described online communication as a substantial method of building relationships with the host community. Previous research has suggested that greater amounts of social support and stronger social ties with both locals and co-nationals are generally incremental necessities to newcomers‘ psychological adjustment, or emotional well-being and satisfaction during cultural transition (Ward, 2001; Ward et al., 2001). In contrast, for sociocultural adjustment, or the ability to fit in and navigate successfully in the new cultural environment, the benefit of social ties with locals is more important than ties with co- nationals (Ward & Kennedy, 1991). The use of social networking sites and e-mails strengthened the local ties of participants in this study. Social Internet activities improved and compensated for communication difficulties involved in face-to-face communication that result from culture and language differences. Social networking sites helped participants get to know about their friends easily, so the sites complemented insufficient face-to-face interaction and increased opportunities to construct interpersonal relationships. Also, involvement with Facebook made respondents in this study feel closer to American society. Participants raised their confidence and satisfaction in living in a foreign country from achieving a feeling that they belong in the U.S. Also, in this study, use of e-mail proved its utility for informational support in the acculturation process, with its accuracy and convenience in delivering formal messages to the host society. E-mail increased communication efficiency while avoiding

misunderstandings and uncertainties. Just simple announcements or notifications from listservs were favorable to respondents‘ acculturation motives. This study demonstrated that co-national or international ties are maintained through the use of instant messengers. The need for acculturation in terms of maintaining one‘s ethnicity is clearly evident in the participants‘ use of instant messengers. Respondents said that they attain a feeling of being connected to their roots, which provides emotional and appraisal support that decreases acculturative stress and eventually enhances the acculturation process.

RQ2: How are the acculturation motives reflected in the use of the Internet in terms of Internet type (English-language/native-language)?

Media preference is another important indicator of acculturation for sojourners (Ye, 2005). While ethnic mass media promote ethnic identity and preserve a group's original culture (Jeffers, 2000), the use of host mass media can reduce uncertainty, shape one's acculturation process in terms of improving language skills, and complement social interactions (Kim, 1977). Melkote and Liu (2000) conducted a survey on the role of the Internet in the resocialization of Chinese students and scholars in the United States. Their findings suggested that use of Chinese, ethnic Internet sites helps sustain Chinese values but impairs acculturation to American values. Unlike acculturation effects of mass media preference found in previous research, however, two dimensions of acculturation, acquisition of new cultural traits and maintenance of heritage, were not affected by Internet type (host or native). Furthermore, the results of this research showed use of native- language Internet enhances not only the maintenance of heritage identity but also the acquisition of American cultural traits. Participants‘ motives for using the Internet took precedence over the cultural and linguistic nature of native/host Internet types. Although the social purposes for Internet use were fulfilled in accordance with each Internet type, information-seeking activities for acculturation were not related to Internet type. In information-seeking activities, the most important feature that influences the choice of Web sites is quality of Web site content. Participants obtain information they need from all over the Internet, regardless of the language used on the Web sites. Unlike traditional media, which do not require active audience participation, the Internet encourages the audience to actively and purposely search for information (Hiebert & Gibbons, 2000). The Internet is an interactive and communicative platform where users can store, search for, distribute,

and exchange vast amounts of digital information inexpensively (Peterson et al., 1997). Because of this aspect of the Internet, what people do online is more important than where (which Web sites) they do it. When participants in this study choose Web sites, the quality of the site‘s information is their first priority; language issues come second. Unlike with other mass media, the cultural or linguistic nature of the Internet is not closely related to the acculturation process. Participants accomplished their motives for acculturation over the Internet regardless of its language type. Internet use that involved the maintenance of heritage cultural traits, which hse been considered a primary area of ethnic mass media, was found in both host and native Internet language sites. For example, D‘s (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese) heritage cultural identity led her to read English- language Internet news articles and check public English-language online forum opinions regarding the Tibetan riots. She did use the host coutry Internet, but this revealed her motivation to sustain her heritage, not acquire American cultural traits. Also, the results of this study revealed that participants attain new cultural traits through the use of ethnic Internet. Participants commented that they obtain practical information for everyday living, such as information about insurance, a driver‘s license, a housing contract, or even laws and visas, on their native Internet. For P (28, heritage-oriented CI, Korean), Naver 지-in, which is a knowledge search service (information-sharing between users), was the main source of information about living in the U.S. In addition, the gratification of experience with Naver 지-in was noticeably high: He noted that Naver 지-in was the first and last Web page he checks when he needs practical information about living in the U.S. and that he has found satisfactory answers on Naver 지-in most of the time.

Limitations

Concerning primary limitations of the current investigation, methodological issues were found in the questionnaire (see Appendix B part 1). Specifically, questions 8 and 9 provided only two answer choices, yes and no, that limited participants‘ responses. These questions were participants‘ first exposure to the concepts of acquisition of mainstream culture and maintenance of heritage culture, which were the main themes of this study. Two participants, F (25, heritage-oriented CI, Chinese), and H (25, bicultural CI, Korean), raised a question about the answer choices of these questions. F said that he was partially interested in learning American culture. H stated that he had not yet thought about the importance of maintaining Korean cultural values. Based on this information, this researcher can assume

that, if the study included other answer choices, such as others or partially interested, findings that could improve the understanding of acculturation may have appeared. The second limitation was with the use of a 5-point Likert scale (see Appendix B part 2), which narrowed the responses. In order to allow for the most possible responses, the current study could have used a 7 or 9-point scale, from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7 or 9). This limitation probably caused a narrow range of CI scores and participants have a fairly similar score ranges and differences (see table 2, page 26). In addition, this study assumed that communication ties to heritage culture have a positive effect on the acculturation process in terms of emotional and appraisal support that reduces acculturative stress. However, interviews failed to address specifically respondents‘ degree of acculturation stress; therefore, specific questions regarding acculturation stress should have been included in the questionnaire. The results of this study revealed that communication with people in their home countries and with people in American society via the Internet helps individuals to overcome difficulties associated with living in a new cultural sphere. However, the study did not account for details of Internet usage patterns among people with different levels of acculturation stress. To account for this factor, social support needs may vary in different acculturative stress situations. Lastly, in this study, typical or mainstream American cultural values (see Appendix B part 2) that respondents perceived were defined as FSU majority culture. However, this researcher did allow participants to define FSU majority culture themselves when they completed the questionnaire. This researcher also did not make clear how and to what extent American culture was defined during interviews, thus participants‘ definitions of American culture were not clear.

Contributions to Future Research

Overall, this study provided some understanding of the links between use of the Internet and acculturation motives. The findings of this study also contributed to knowledge of how the Internet can serve international students in their acculturation process. One contribution of this research was to emphasize the need to study international students who have specific cultural characteristics. Two different cultural identifications (heritage-oriented and bicultural) of integrated participants‘ acculturation motives for using the Internet were examined through social-utility and information-seeking activities on the Internet. International students have been

45 popular samples for acculturation studies, and their cultural adaptation has been studied along with acculturation of immigrants. This research also borrowed many concepts from immigrants‘ acculturation studies (Berry, 1980; Kim, 1991; Laroch, Kim, & Hui, 1997; Mendosa & Martinez 1981; Laroche et al., 1996; Sayegh & Lasry, 1993). As many researchers have pointed out sojourners and immigrants have different cultural orientations (Berry, 1990; Paige, 1990). However, future studies of the acculturation process of international students should take into account how they differ from immigrants.

APPENDIX A

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

I am Min Jeong Kim, a master‘s student in the Department of Communication at Florida State University. I am conducting a research study of Asian International Students‘ use of the Internet. The purpose of this study is to help understand how Asian International Students communicate with other people and get information they need over the Internet.

I am requesting your participation, which will involve a conversational interview in the group study room at Strozier Library. The process will last approximately one and a half hours. The interview will be audio-recorded, and the data will be used only for this study. You will be asked to answer questions about your Internet use and show the researcher your laptop. I will take pictures of your laptop. Specifically, wallpaper, instant messengers, favorite sites, shortcut icons on desktop and address bar will be photographed. Those pictures will be used only to corroborate my notes.

Participation in this study is totally voluntary. You may stop your participation at any time. If you choose not to participate, there will be no penalty. All the material used for this study will be kept confidential and identified by a code number. Your name will not appear in any of the results.

There are no foreseeable risks or discomfort if you agree to participate in this study. You have the right to ask and have answered any inquiry concerning the study. Therefore, you may contact Dr. Stephen McDowell, 3100 University Center C, School of Communication, FSU, Tallahassee, Florida; e-mail: [email protected]. Also, you may contact the researcher, please call me at, e-mail: [email protected].

If you have any questions about your rights as a subject/participant in this research, or if you feel you have been placed at risk, you may contact the Chair of Human Subject Committee, Institutional Review Board, through the Vice President for the Office of Research at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; phone: (850) 644-8633.

Return of the questionnaire will be considered your consent to participate. Thank you.

I give my consent to participate in the above study.

______(signature) ______(date)

APPENDIX B

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name______Date______Contact information ______

Part 1: Please answer the following questions. (Check only one)

1. What is your year of birth? ______

2. What is your sex? 1) Male 2) Female

3. How long have you been in the U.S.? ______months

4. What is your classification? 1) Freshman 2) Sophomore 3) Junior 4) Senior 5) Graduate student 6) Other: ______

5. How long have you been speaking English? ______months

6. After the graduation, I am planning to or I hope to: 1) continue my studies further in the U.S. 2) continue my studies further in my home country 3) get a job in the U.S 4) get a job in my home country 5) Other: ______

7. Where do you use the internet? (please check every option that applies) 1) Home 2) Work 3) In class 4) Library 5) Café or coffee shop 6) Other: ______

8. Is it considered to be of value to maintain your heritage identity and characteristics? 1) Yes 2) No 9. Is it considered to be of value to maintain relationships with American society? 1) Yes 2) No

Part 2: Please answer each question as carefully as possible. Please circle one of the numbers to the right of each question to indicate your degree of agreement or disagreement.

Many of these questions will refer to your heritage culture, meaning the culture that has influenced you most (other than American culture). It may be the culture of your birth, the culture in which you have been raised, or another culture that forms part of your background. If there are several such cultures, pick the one that has influenced you most (e.g. Irish, Chinese, Mexican, Korean). If you do not feel that you have been influenced by any other culture, please try to identify a culture that may have had an impact on previous generations of your family. Your heritage culture (other than American) is: ______

Disagree Agree

1. I often participate in my heritage cultural traditions. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I often participate in mainstream American cultural traditions. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I would be willing to marry a person from my heritage culture. 1 2 3 4 5

4. I would be willing to marry an American person. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I enjoy social activities with people from the sam e heritage culture as myself.

1 2 3 4 5

6. I enjoy social activities with typical American people. 1 2 3 4 5

7. I am comfortable interacting with people of the same heritage culture as myself.

1 2 3 4 5

8. I am comfortable interacting with typical American people. 1 2 3 4 5

9. I enjoy entertainment (e.g. movies, music) from my heritage culture. 1 2 3 4 5

10. I enjoy American entertainment (e.g. movies, music). 1 2 3 4 5

11. I often behave in ways that are typical of my heritage culture. 1 2 3 4 5

12. I often behave in ways that are ‗typically American.‘ 1 2 3 4 5

13. It is important for me to maintain or develop the practices of my heritage culture.

1 2 3 4 5

14. It is important for me to maintain or develop American cultural practices. 1 2 3 4 5

15. I believe in the values of my heritage culture. 1 2 3 4 5

16. I believe in mainstream American values. 1 2 3 4 5

17. I enjoy the jokes and humor of my heritage culture. 1 2 3 4 5

18. I enjoy American jokes and humor. 1 2 3 4 5

19. I am interested in having friends from my heritage culture. 1 2 3 4 5

20. I am interested in having American friends. 1 2 3 4 5

Thank you!

APPENDIX C

INTERVIEW GUIDE

Remind the subjects that the interview will be audio-recorded. Start with general internet use questions to get them into conversational mood. Warm up.

The interview will last approximately 1 hour. I am interested in how you are involved in web-based activities and English-language/native-language internet use. You will be asked to tell me about your activities performed over the internet. There are no right or wrong answers. I am interested in your point of view and your experiences. Examples and details are encouraged.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

І. General Internet use

A. What do you do on the net? Describe the internet activities you perform most often. B. List five websites or blogs you regularly access. Describe them.

Ⅱ. Information seeking activities on English-language/native-language Internet

A. How important is it to you to be informed regarding current social or political issues within the U.S.? Tell me about how you have learned about current political, economic or social situations and issues within the U.S. on the net.

1. What American/ethnic websites or blogs do you usually visit when you need to seek information about the U.S.? a. How useful are these websites? b. How much do you trust them?

2. If your friend says that a new H1N1 influenza (swine flu) vaccine was invented and it proved to be 100% perfect cure, which websites would you access to get more information?

3. Do you remember how you were initially informed of Senator Edward Kennedy‘s death?

B. Tell me about how you have learned about the way American people behave, dress or eat on the net.

1. What American/ethnic websites help you to learn these on the net? a. How useful are these websites? b. How much do you trust them?

2. Consider this: you are invited one of your American colleague‘s wedding. You have no idea what to wear to the ceremony. Which websites would you visit and get information?

C. Describe experiences where information about the U.S. attained from the web helped or facilitated your life in the U.S.

D. Describe experiences where information about the U.S. you attained from the web caused misunderstandings or troubles in your life in the U.S.

E. How important is it to keep yourself informed about current social or political issues within your country? Tell me about how you have informed of current political, economic or social situations and issues within your country on the net.

1. What American/ethnic websites or blogs do you usually visit when you need to seek this information? a. How useful are these websites? b. How much do you trust them?

2. What are the latest big issues in your country?

F. What proportion are information seeking Internet activities to the total Internet use hours?

Ⅲ. Social Utility activities over English-language/native-language Internet

A. Tell me about your (1) familiarity and (2) frequency of use of e-mail, instant messenger, personal blogs or social network sites (e.g. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Cyworld), and Skape.

1. List them in the order of frequency of use.

2. E-mail: a. When is the last time you sent e-mail? To whom? Regarding what? b. How many e-mail accounts do you use? If more than two, is there any preference in the choice of e-mail accounts for your friends or family in your country/ colleagues or friends in the U.S? Do you have separate personal email address and business email address? c. What do you like most about using email?

3. Instant messenger a. When is the last time you use instant messenger? Who did you talk to? b. Usually, when do you log in? Is there a specific time of day for log-in instant messenger? Why that time? How many hours you c. Is your computer use automatic log in? d. Do you use more than one instant messenger? If yes, list them and explain why you use more than one (e.g. type of messenger, friends list). e. What do you like most about using messenger?

4. Personal blogs or social network sites a. Describe personal blogs or network sites you use. b. How many times you access it/them per day?

c. Usually, what do you do on those sites? (e.g. posing pictures, notes, leave messages to friends) d. What do you like most about using them?

5. Skype a. Do you use Skype? b. If yes, describe your Skype use.

B. Tell me about the ways you contact with your friends and family in home on the net.

1. How often do you contact people in your country on the net?

2. Explain specifically the ways you communicate to your home country. (e.g. the reason or purpose why you use specific modes of communication, the advantage or disadvantage of each)

3. Which communication modes make you most feel close to your family and friends in your country? Describe how it makes you feel that way?

C. Tell me about the ways you communicate with your American friends or colleagues on the net.

1. How often do you communicate with them on the net?

2. Explain specifically each way of communication to friends or colleagues within the U.S. (e.g. the reason or purpose why you use them, the advantage or disadvantage of each)

3. Which communication modes most help you develop relationships with your American friends? Describe how it helped your relationship.

D. What proportion are information seeking Internet activities to the total Internet use hours?

APPENDIX D

RECRUITMENT E-MAIL

Hello, ______. I am Min Jeong Kim, a master‘s student in the Department of Communication at Florida State University. I am conducting the research study of Asian international students‘ use of the Internet.

I got your e-mail address from ______who participated in my interview. I am looking for Asian international students who come from Korea, Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan or Mongolia. I am requesting your participation, which will involve a conversational interview within one and a half hours. You will be asked to bring your own laptop on the interview day. I will not operate or use it. The interview questions are not difficult to answer, and we will talk about how you use the Internet over a cup of coffee.

Participation in this study is completely voluntary. All the material used for this study will be kept confidential. Your name will not be revealed in any of the results. There are no foreseeable risks or discomforts if you agree to participate in this study.

Your opinions and experiences regarding the internet are very important to me. I hope that you consider participating in my interview positively.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Sincerely, Min Jeong Kim

APPENDIX E

OBSERVATION GUIDE

Respondents: ______Date: ______

Observations checklist and notes Language Settings Native language English Not Applicable Notes:

Shortcut icons on desktop

Wallpapers

Instant messengers -Use of Instant messengers Observed Not Observed Not applicable - Automatic log-in Observed Not Observed Not applicable -Numbers of messenger using 1 2 more than 3:___ Notes:

Favorite sites

Address bar

Others

APPENDIX F

HUMAN SUBJECT APPROVAL MEMORANDUM

Office of the Vice President For Research Human Subjects Committee Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2742 (850) 644-8673 · FAX (850) 644-4392

APPROVAL MEMORANDUM

Date: 12/22/2009

To: Min Jeong Kim

Address: 158-13 Herlong Dr. Tallahassee, FL 32310 Dept.: COMMUNICATION

From: Thomas L. Jacobson, Chair

Re: Use of Human Subjects in Research Need for Acculturation and Use of the Internet among East Asian International Students in the U.S.

The application that you submitted to this office in regard to the use of human subjects in the proposal referenced above have been reviewed by the Secretary, the Chair, and two members of the Human Subjects Committee. Your project is determined to be Expedited per 45 CFR § 46.110(7) and has been approved by an expedited review process.

The Human Subjects Committee has not evaluated your proposal for scientific merit, except to weigh the risk to the human participants and the aspects of the proposal related to potential risk and benefit. This approval does not replace any departmental or other approvals, which may be required.

If you submitted a proposed consent form with your application, the approved stamped consent form is attached to this approval notice. Only the stamped version of the consent form may be used in recruiting research subjects.

If the project has not been completed by 12/20/2010 you must request a renewal of approval for continuation of the project. As a courtesy, a renewal notice will be sent to you prior to your expiration date; however, it is your responsibility as the Principal Investigator to timely request renewal of your approval from the Committee.

You are advised that any change in protocol for this project must be reviewed and approved by the Committee prior to implementation of the proposed change in the protocol. A protocol change/amendment form is required to be submitted for approval by the Committee. In addition, federal regulations require that the Principal Investigator promptly report, in writing any unanticipated problems

56 or adverse events involving risks to research subjects or others.

By copy of this memorandum, the Chair of your department and/or your major professor is reminded that he/she is responsible for being informed concerning research projects involving human subjects in the department, and should review protocols as often as needed to insure that the project is being conducted in compliance with our institution and with DHHS regulations.

This institution has an Assurance on file with the Office for Human Research Protection. The Assurance Number is IRB00000446.

Cc: Stephen McDowell, Chair HSC No. 2009.3048

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

In 2007, Min Jeong Kim earned her Bachelor‘s degrees in Communication Studies and English literature at the Dongguk University, and she obtained her Master's degree in spring of 2010 from the School of Communication at Florida State University. Her current research interests focus on social and cultural effect of the Internet.