Drawing from the theoretical framework of uses and gratifications theory, this project explored the ways that acculturation affects Chinese international college students’ usage of two social networking sites, Facebook and Renren. An online survey was conducted to gather data about Chinese international students’ acculturation levels and their usage of and gratifications for Facebook (N = 144) and Renren (N = 106). Pearson correlations and bootstrapping analyses were performed.
Results showed that the adaptation to American culture was positively related to participants’ gratifications for and usage of Facebook. Moreover, gratifications mediated the relationship between acculturation and Facebook usage. Similarly, participants’ identification with Chinese culture was positively associated with their gratifications for Renren. However, acculturation was not found to be correlated with Renren usage. These findings have several implications for uses and gratifications theory, the bidimensional model of acculturation, and ethnic media use studies. In addition, this study provides suggestions for acculturative stress coping programs and marketers’ use of social networking sites.
","abstract_html":"<p>Drawing from the theoretical framework of uses and gratifications theory, this project explored the ways that acculturation affects Chinese international college students’ usage of two social networking sites, Facebook and Renren. An online survey was conducted to gather data about Chinese international students’ acculturation levels and their usage of and gratifications for Facebook (N = 144) and Renren (N = 106). Pearson correlations and bootstrapping analyses were performed.</p><p>Results showed that the adaptation to American culture was positively related to participants’ gratifications for and usage of Facebook. Moreover, gratifications mediated the relationship between acculturation and Facebook usage. Similarly, participants’ identification with Chinese culture was positively associated with their gratifications for Renren. However, acculturation was not found to be correlated with Renren usage. These findings have several implications for uses and gratifications theory, the bidimensional model of acculturation, and ethnic media use studies. In addition, this study provides suggestions for acculturative stress coping programs and marketers’ use of social networking sites.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chen, Lanming"],"institution":"Bowling Green State University","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Media and Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hanasono, Lisa"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-04-11","date_published":"2013-04-11","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z","subjects":["Communication","acculturation","SNS usage","Facebook","Renren","Chinese international students"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1363546947","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hanasono, Lisa"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chen, Lanming"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-04-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Media and Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Bowling Green State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication","acculturation","SNS usage","Facebook","Renren","Chinese international students"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1363546947"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Drawing from the theoretical framework of uses and gratifications theory, this project explored the ways that acculturation affects Chinese international college students’ usage of two social networking sites, Facebook and Renren. An online survey was conducted to gather data about Chinese international students’ acculturation levels and their usage of and gratifications for Facebook (N = 144) and Renren (N = 106). Pearson correlations and bootstrapping analyses were performed.
Results showed that the adaptation to American culture was positively related to participants’ gratifications for and usage of Facebook. Moreover, gratifications mediated the relationship between acculturation and Facebook usage. Similarly, participants’ identification with Chinese culture was positively associated with their gratifications for Renren. However, acculturation was not found to be correlated with Renren usage. These findings have several implications for uses and gratifications theory, the bidimensional model of acculturation, and ethnic media use studies. In addition, this study provides suggestions for acculturative stress coping programs and marketers’ use of social networking sites.
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Results showed that the adaptation to American culture was positively related to participants’ gratifications for and usage of Facebook. Moreover, gratifications mediated the relationship between acculturation and Facebook usage. Similarly, participants’ identification with Chinese culture was positively associated with their gratifications for Renren. However, acculturation was not found to be correlated with Renren usage. These findings have several implications for uses and gratifications theory, the bidimensional model of acculturation, and ethnic media use studies. In addition, this study provides suggestions for acculturative stress coping programs and marketers’ use of social networking sites.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.85","661.4 KB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1363546947"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Communication","acculturation","SNS usage","Facebook","Renren","Chinese international students"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Acculturation on Chinese International Students’ Usage of Facebook and Renren"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Media and Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Bowling Green State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z"}