| With recent developments in communication technologies and globalization of the economy, cross-cultural adaptation (CCA) has become a common and salient social phenomenon. I intended to bridge CCA and Internet research by examining Chinese students' Internet use in the process of CCA. It was hoped that the study would not only draw more attention from intercultural communication scholars in studying CCA in the new media environment, but also would shed some light on the social and cultural consequences of Internet use in a specific context. Guided by the uses and gratifications paradigm and integrative cross-cultural adaptation theory, I tested a model of Internet use in CCA by examining how individual differences (i.e., host language competency, lengthy of stay, acculturation attitudes, and loneliness), Internet use motives, and Internet use influenced CCA. I also examined Internet use motives in the context of CCA. Finally, I explored correlating relationships among different variables to provide some understanding of how sojourners used the Internet in their adaptation to the new culture. In order to examine the model, research questions and hypotheses were proposed and a survey was conducted. Data were collected from 268 Chinese students who studied at large U.S. universities. Overall, the findings of the study supported the proposed model of Internet use in CCA and suggested that (a) individual differences, (b) Internet motives, and (c) Internet use contributed to predicting adaptation. In particular, I found that all three categories of antecedents influenced Chinese students' psychological adaptation. The study identified eight motives for using the Internet among Chinese students involved in CCA: social involvement, acculturation, pass time, information, entertainment, convenience, companionship, and ethnic maintenance. The results indicated that motivation influenced Chinese students' Internet use and CCA, which were consonant with U&G notions. Furthermore, the present study partially supported integrative cross-cultural adaptation theory, which posits that host communication and ethnic communication influence newcomers' CCA. In this study, I found that host Internet use affected Chinese students' adaptation. Ethnic Internet use, however, did not seem to be an important factor in predicting CCA. Implications of the results for uses and gratifications and CCA research are discussed. |
