Facilitating or Impeding Acculturation: A Qualitative Study on Mobile Social Messaging in First-Generation Chinese Immigrants’ Everyday Lives

ABSTRACT

Previous research indicated that communication through media has been intertwined into immigrants’ everyday lives and become an essential part of their acculturating practices. However, no research has been conducted to examine how innovative, ethnic social media play a role in Chinese immigrants’ acculturation process in terms of social capital. In order to fill the research gap, a qualitative study was conducted to explore how Chinese immigrants use social messaging to accumulate social capitals to facilitate their acculturation process. Thirty face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted among Chinese immigrants to collect data. Findings revealed that Chinese immigrants tend to consider acculturation as a complex and long process in which they navigate through and position themselves in the unfamiliar cultural system. The ethnic social medium – WeChat, and in particular, its social messaging plays an essential role in shaping Chinese immigrants’ acculturation experiences by assisting them in garnering both bonding and bridging social capitals.

KEYWORDS:

• Social media
• social messaging
• acculturation
• social capital
• Chinese immigrants
• qualitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida [Seed funding].

Notes on contributors

Huan Chen

Huan Chen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of advertising in the School of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. She received her Ph.D. in communication and information from the University of Tennessee. Before joining the University of Florida, she worked as an assistant professor at the Penn State Erie and a visiting assistant professor at the Indiana University Southeast, teaching a variety of courses in advertising and communication.

Dr.Huan Chen’s research interests include new media and advertising, product placement, and international and cross-cultural advertising. She has published 27 refereed journal articles, 4 book chapters, and 1 sole authored book. She has received internal and external funding to support her research, and her research has reaped different top paper awards. Her research papers have appeared in Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Current Research and Issues in Advertising, Journal of Brand Management, among others. In addition, she serves as an editorial board member for Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research and Annals of Management Science.

Earlesha Butler

Earlesha Butler M.A., is a doctoral candidate in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. She earned her master’s degree in journalism from The University of Iowa and bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Her research interests relate to the social, cultural, and historical examination of ethnic media journalists as members of interpretive communities. Previously, Butler has worked as a professional news reporter for several newspapers, including the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), The Des Moines Register, and The Hattiesburg American. For nearly three years, she taught journalism and communication courses at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. While earning her Ph.D., she has worked as the instructor of record for the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications JOU 2005, Writing Mechanics, and as an instructor for Multimedia Writing Lab.

Xuan Liang

Xuan Liang, M.A., is a senior strategist in VML Inc. Shanghai, China. She received her master’s degree in advertising from the University of Florida. Before joining VML Inc., she conducted research on brand localization, social media and advertising, and international communication. She has presented her research at American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference and Association for Education of Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference. One of her research papers has reaped the top paper award. As an advertising professional, she serves clients for their strategic communication and marketing needs. Her clients include Volkswagen Audi, PepsiCo., Oreo, Aldi, Budweiser, and among others.