Tuning in to fit in? Acculturation and media use among Chinese students in the United States

An Examination of Acculturative Stress, Interpersonal Social Support, and Use of Online Ethnic Social Groups among Chinese International Students

“…Social services and school counseling have typically focused on using interpersonal or group interactions to help international students going though the process of acculturation. Recently, increasing evidence has indicated the key role of the Internet in cross-cultural adjustment (Yang, Wu, Zhu, & Southwell, 2004;Ye, 2005). As this study showed, building online communities to get students with similar backgrounds together is another important way to facilitate the acculturation process.…”

‘Now I’m Part of Australia and I Need to Know What Is Happening Here’: Case of Hazara Male Former Refugees in Brisbane Strategically Selecting Media to Aid Acculturation

“…Several studies conducted with migrants of different cultural backgrounds found similar results in that participants perceived the host country media, particularly TV, as a window to understanding cultural, social, and political landscape of the host society; this usually is the case for the recent settlers who have limited contact with people from the host country, and thus, they rely on media to compensate the missing learning opportunity that arises from interpersonal interaction (Yang et al 2004;Somani 2010). Conducting a study with Indian migrants in the US, Somani (2010) mentioned that participants watched sports programs on TV to gain understanding of American culture and to be able to establish a topic of conversation at work.…”

“…On the other hand, participants with limited English proficiency appeared to lean towards a medium (i.e. the internet and mobile phone) which enabled them to retrieve information in their native language and stay in touch with their relatives and ethnic friends (Glazebrook 2004;Yang et al 2004;Cheach et al 2011). Our study builds upon Glazebrook's (2004) research by now pinpointing the explicit role of English language proficiency in the media selection process.…”

“…Whilst host country media can help refugees and migrants to gain an understanding of the host society, ethnic media were usually described as a tool to reinforce ethnic cultural identity and to help them remain in touch with their country of origin (see Yang et al 2004;Cheach et al 2011). Nevertheless, a recent study by Dalisay (2012) conducted with new migrants in the USA, found a positive association between ethnic media use and acculturation indicators.…”

The Influence of Religiosity and Ethnic Identification on Media Use Among Muslims and Non-Muslims in France and Britain

“…Mass media, specifically ethnic media, play a major role in facilitating this process. Ethnic media also play a major role in facilitating the process of acculturation (Hwang & He, 1999;Peeters & D'Haenens, 2005;Vishwanath & Arora, 2000;Yang, Wu, Zhu & Southwell, 2004).…”