Experience with Surveillance, Perceived Threat of Surveillance, SNS Posting Behavior, and Identity Construction on SNSs: An examination of Chinese college students in the U.S.
Year: 2016
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study applied the uses and gratifications (U&G) perspective in order to explore Chinese students' SNS (Social Networking Site) identity construction in four ways: (1) how Chinese young adults studying in the U.S. use various kinds of SNSs, (2) how their use of SNSs are influenced by the surveillance of the Chinese government, (3) how their experience with and perceived threat of surveillance varies depending on the type of SNS being used, and (4) how their experience with and perceived threat of surveillance are related to their SNS posting behaviors and identify construction on SNSs.This study categorized SNSs by their national origin (Chinese SNSs vs.U.S. SNSs) and by their network openness (open SNSs vs. closed SNSs).Thus, SNSs were assigned to one of the four categories: (1) Chinese open SNSs, (2) Chinese closed SNSs, (3) U.S. open SNSs, and (4) U.S. closed SNSs.169 Chinese students attending colleges in the U.S. participated in a survey for this study.They were asked about their experience with and perceived threat of surveillance, posting behaviors, and identify construction on the four different types of SNSs.This study found that Chinese students in the U.S. have different experiences and perceptions of surveillance depending on the type of SNS they use.This study also found that the different level of surveillance experience and perceived threat of surveillance were related to different SNS posting behaviors and identity construction strategies.Implications of these findings are discussed, and limitations and opportunities for future research are addressed.How long have you lived in the United States?( ) Years You just answered the last question.Thank you very much for participating in this survey.If you would like to be entered for random drawings of $25 Amazon gift cards, please type your email address below:You are reaffirming your consent by clicking a "submit" button.
Author: Ki-Sun Kim
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2610392407