Adaptation and the New Media Technology: A Study on Malaysian Students in Australia and United Kingdom

Abstract

This paper explores Lysgaard (1955) U-Curve model which explains the process of adaptation in a new culture. Lysgaard (1955) stated that those who migrate to other places go through the following stages of adaptation; the honeymoon stage, culture shock, adjustment and recovery. The existence and rise of new media technologies have brought the world closer together and thus raises the question whether one still go through the stages stated by Lysgaard (1955) New media components such as Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Blogs and Online television has created an impact towards the adaptation process. Four focus group discussions were conducted among Malaysians who had been to either Australia or United Kingdom for their tertiary education and has since returned to Malaysia. The discussions centered on the experience of these students adapting into the new culture and how the Internet and the new media has played a role through their adaptation process. Findings from the research show that the new technologies have brought them closer to their own culture and at the same time assist them in adapting into the new culture.

The Role of Social Media in Adaptation Process:

“…In the 1980s and the 1990s, the cost of making a telephone call to a foreign country was really expensive and communication between countries was sent via traditional postal mail. However, today, the existence of Facebook and some other social media have made communication with people across countries a lot easier (Abdul Latiff et al 2014). This experience has also shown by most of the informants in this study who are utilize social media, as well as other online media, for communication purpose and information gathering.…”

Familiarity as a Family

“…Although co-national friends are important for international students, it is surprising that Malay students have fewer interactions and close ties with Malaysians from different ethnic backgrounds while studying abroad as discussed in the previous studies (Ahmad, Mirza, Mohd, Pawanteh, & Salman, 2014;Weiss & Ford 2011). Weiss and Ford (2011) found that although Malay students formed more friendships with Chinese and Indian friends than they had in Malaysia, friends from other ethnic backgrounds remained a relatively small part of their close friendships as Malays tend to speak Malay among themselves and tend to speak in English with Chinese and Indian friends.…”

“…Thus, as previously mentioned, the term "familiarity as a family" was introduced to describe students' close friendships when they are far from home. The concept of familiarity as a family offers some valuable insight into the concept of familiarity discussed in the studies of students living abroad (see Ahmad et al, 2014;Alazzi & Al-Jarrah, 2016;Prazeres, 2016;Weiss & Ford, 2011) as well the studies of family and friendship.…”

“…Although recent students' mobility studies (see Bilecen, 2014;Brown, 2009a;Gu & Maley, 2008) discussed the relationship between international students and co-national as well as transnational friendships, they omitted to discuss further these aspects from a multiethnic and religious perspective. As Malaysia is a multicultural country where the people come from different ethnicities and practice a different religion, the debate about interethnic friendships has gained fresh prominence with many showing that Malaysian students abroad (see Ahmad et al, 2014) reported having close ties with people from similar ethnicity and religion.…”

Perbandingan Pengalaman Antara Budaya Pelajar Antarabangsa di Universiti Malaysia Sabah dalam Satu Dekad 2006-2016 (A Comparison of Intercultural Experience among the International Students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah in a Decade 2006-2016)

“…Selain daripada aspek identiti budaya, kajian akulturasi juga telah berkembang dalam disiplin komunikasi khususnya mengenai aspek hubungan peribadi, tingkahlaku dan bentuk komunikasi para imigran di negara baharu seperti kajian Kim (1977;1978), Kim Lujan dan Dixon (1998), Inglis dan Gudykunst (1982) serta Yum (1982;1988dan Jun, 1984 (Halina Sendera, 2003). Seiring dengan perkembangan teknologi komunikasi yang melanda dunia, kajian komunikasi antara budaya juga sering dikaitkan dengan teknologi media baharu seperti kajian Tengku Siti Aisha (2018), Sabariah Mohamed Salleh dan Siti Khadijah Hussin (2017), serta Abdul Latiff Ahmad et al (2014).…”