A Comparative Study of Social Networking and Family Relationship in Two Different Cultures
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Authors
Li, Ai
Issue Date
2012-12-04
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Family Relationships, Culture, Social Networking
Alternative Title
Abstract
This research is a comparative study on the usage pattern of online social networking and perception of family closeness between Chinese and American social networking user groups. Whereas previous research indicates significant correlations between online social networking and the users' family relationship both positively and negatively, this research focuses on the relationship between people's usage of online social networking and their perception of family closeness from a multicultural perspective. A 23-question survey (21 multiple choice questions and two open-ended questions) was constructed for this research based upon the results of previous studies. The survey was implemented online using Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com) in both English and Chinese. The snowball method was used to obtain a convenient sample of 149 participants (78 from China and 71 from the United States). The results confirmed the findings of the previous studies, showing that there were different usage patterns between Chinese and American online social networking users: Additionally, perceptions of the closeness with family members were also different. In both cultures, the users' usage patterns of online social networking were related to their perception of family closeness in different levels, leading to some changes of their family closeness. These results also provided some insight for possible interventions with online social networking users and their family members as clients in psychotherapy. The findings suggested that as a new way of interpersonal communication, online social networking was worthy of being studied in the marriage and family therapy field for attaining cultural competency.