A new study has found that the experience of studying abroad causes Chinese international students to have opinions that differ from those of the major users of Chinese social media. The findings by Huan Chen, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Advertising Department interim department chair and associate professor, and Yue Hu, M.A.M.C. 2021, are featured in “Silence on Social Media: Factors Shaping Chinese International Students’ Decision on Speaking up on Social Media” published in the Journal of International Communication Research on Nov. 6.

The authors investigated social media platforms that were chosen by Chinese international students to express their opinions and conducted interviews of Chinese international students from different universities in the U.S.

According to the authors, “The results show that the experience of studying abroad causes Chinese international students to have opinions that differ from those of the major users of Chinese social media; they prefer to express their opinions on Chinese social media; technological issues such as privacy settings and functions influence their choice; and differences in gratifications lead to different choices of social media platforms.”

Posted: November 14, 2022
Category: College News
Tagged as: Huan Chen, International Research, Yue Hu