Exploring the Predicted Effect of Social Networking Site Use on Perceived Social Capital and Psychological Well-Being of Chinese International Students in Japan

Abstract

This study investigated how social networking sites (SNSs) use by Chinese international students in Japan influenced their perceived social capital and psychological well-being. In addition, it examined how, as sojourners, Chinese international students' perceived acculturative stress varied. Data were collected from 142 Chinese international students. The results indicated that the intensity of SNS use was unable to predict individuals' perceived social capital and psychological well-being. The effect of SNS use varied according to the functions it serves. Specifically, SNS use for social and informational functions (SIF) increased individuals' levels of perceived bridging social capital and perceived life satisfaction, while SNS use for entertaining recreational functions (ERF) was unable to predict perceived social capital but increased individuals' levels of loneliness. It was also found that, in the intercultural environment, Chinese international students' levels of perceived acculturative stress were decreased by their perceived bonding social capital and increased by their perceived loneliness but had no relationship with their SNS use. Findings of the study suggest that individuals using SNSs to stay informed and connected will benefit with regard to their social network building and psychological well-being.

Introduction

In recent years, social networking sites (SNSs) have attracted millions of users and markedly improved online participation by enabling individuals to connect with one another across a distance.^1–3 Given the characteristics of easy access and the low cost of the Internet, SNSs provide a convenient means for virtual interpersonal interactions, and they become integrated into users' daily practices.⁴ According to Nielsen's social media report,⁵ SNSs have become a global phenomenon and are the top online destination across the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that many weighty issues surrounding SNSs are becoming the hottest topics in the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC).

However, although SNS usage and effectiveness have been widely discussed, researchers still have limited knowledge of how and why people use SNSs, as well as the diverse potential outcomes of using them.⁴ Moreover, there are relatively few findings associated with SNS use among minority people, such as sojourners in a host country. According to Japan Students Services Organization (JASSO),⁶ Chinese international students (63.4%) are the largest population of international students in Japan. However, a recent survey among Japanese (N=1,838) conducted by the Cabinet Office of Japan's Government shows that 80.6% of participants have no good impressions of China.⁷ For Chinese international students, the cultural proximity between China and Japan⁸ may not eliminate their anxiety in acculturation. They still have unavoidable problems in social network building and maintaining psychological balance. The purpose of this study is not only to address early studies' limitations⁹ by investigating SNS use of a specific population in an intercultural context, but also to explore how SNS use affects Chinese sojourners' social relationships and psychological well-being in acculturation.

Theoretical Perspectives

Considering SNS use, both positive and negative consequences have been addressed by previous studies. SNSs not only support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks, but also help individuals construct new social ties based on shared interests and views through online activities.⁴ However, using SNSs may distract people from real world engagement, and the addictive tendencies of SNS use are becoming a serious issue, especially among young generations.^10,11 There is no absolute standard to decide whether using SNSs is a good thing because it is not one-dimensional. Researchers exploring SNS use suggest that, besides the amount of time, the effect of SNS use is also differentiated from the functions SNSs serve.^12,13 As the integration of multiple functions, SNSs are certainly changing the communication environment and providing diverse experiences for their users.

Based on early discussions, we chose SNS use as the predictor to assess its influence on individuals' perceived social capital and psychological status within an intercultural context. First, it has already been pointed out that SNSs support pre-existing social relations, solidify offline connections, and allow individuals to create new social ties. Therefore, SNS use is likely to be associated with users' perceived social capital, which is based on social networks and representing the accumulation of interpersonal relationships,¹⁴ as well as the expected resources from such relationships.^15–17 From their social ties, individuals may get not only actual benefits but also intangible ones,^18,19 such as mutual trust and emotional support. Identified by Putnam,²⁰ social capital at the individual level can be categorized into two types: bonding social capital and bridging social capital. Bonding social capital reflects the strong-tie network and close and trusting relationships, which easily enable members to earn informational support and meet their emotional needs effectively.²¹ Bridging social capital reflects the weak-tie network, particularly valuable in providing informational support to members²² and expanding their horizons. Therefore, compared with bonding social capital, bridging social capital is regarded as a substitute for social support²¹ that brings resources that are unobtainable from close relationships.

Considering the above-mentioned literatures, we hypothesize:

H1: SNS use increases Chinese international students' perceived bridging social capital.

H2: SNS use increases Chinese international students' perceived bonding social capital.

Second, SNSs are able to increase the possibility of activating potential relationships.²³ According to numerous empirical studies, the increase in social relationships and expansion of social network size may yield positive outcomes. Researchers have found that people using SNSs were more likely to experience connectedness and feel happier.²⁴ For instance, Valenzuela et al.²⁵ found a positive relationship between SNS use and individuals' life satisfaction. However, the positive outcomes of online activities have been questioned by some researchers who are cyber-pessimistic. Kraut et al.²⁶ argued that online activities may lead to harmful outcomes on individuals' psychological well-being such as making them feel more lonely. Kim et al.²⁷ examined loneliness as both the cause and the effect of problematic Internet use, and the results showed that individuals who were lonely could generate strong compulsive Internet use behaviors resulting in more serious negative life outcomes instead of relieving their loneliness. In the present study, we expect SNS use to have both positive and negative impacts on Chinese international students' psychological well-being. We use life satisfaction and loneliness as two psychological variables and hypothesize:

H3: SNS use increases Chinese international students' perceived life satisfaction.

H4: SNS use increases Chinese international students' perceived loneliness.

Furthermore, acculturative stress has been frequently reported in studies related to cross-culture issues.^28–30 Because of the language barriers, cultural shock, homesickness, and other problems in acculturation, international students may encounter many communication difficulties during cross-cultural adaptation. Therefore, in this study, we also considered the perceived stress of Chinese international students and examined how SNS use, social capital, and psychological well-being were related to acculturative stress in the given intercultural context.

Method

Procedure and participants

A survey was conducted among Chinese international students in a national university located in the northern part of Japan. The original questionnaire was in English. It was translated to Mandarin Chinese and then back translated into English by two bilingual Chinese to verify whether the translation covered all aspects of the original. Questionnaires were distributed to Chinese international students in the International Student Center, and 40 were collected from the center. In addition, the Web site link of the electronic version of the questionnaire was posted on online communities and instant messaging groups of Chinese international students in this university. We collected 102 samples from the Internet. Within a 14-day period, 149 Chinese international students completed the questionnaire, of whom 142 (95.3%) students (56 male) were using SNSs. Among the participants, 2.8% were less than 20 years old, 47.2% were between 20 and 24 years old, 46.5% were between 25 and 29 years old, 2.8% were between 30 and 34 years old, and 0.7% were between 35 and 39 years old. Most (61.3%) were newcomers (students who have lived in Japan for less than 1 year), 38.0% of them have lived in Japan for between 1 and 4 years, and only one (0.7%) student reported the years of residency as 4 years or more. Analysis of variance was conducted to examine the mean differences of the participants who completed the paper questionnaire and those who completed the questionnaire online. The results showed no significant difference between the two groups on the demographic variables.

Measures

SNS use was measured with three criteria: amount of time, frequency of reply, and functions of SNS use. First, participants answered an open-ended question: “How many minutes per day have you spent on SNSs (e.g., Weibo, Renren, Facebook, Twitter, Mixi, etc.) on average in the past week?” Second, because replying to other users' comments can be seen as an important indicator of the degree of online participation and willingness to interact with others,³¹ a question asking for the frequency of reply was employed and rated on a 4-point scale (1=“never” and 4=“frequently”). Third, functions of SNS use were assessed by seven items revised from Weiser's scale measuring Internet use functions.³² Using factor analysis, two components were obtained and labeled “social-informational function” (SIF; four items, α=0.74) and “entertaining-recreational function” (ERF; three items, α=0.66), which explained cumulatively 60.3% of the variance.

Perceived social capital was measured with a modified version of the Internet Social Capital Scale (ISCS) developed by Williams.³³ Using factor analysis, two factors were obtained explaining 56.2% of the total variance. In the current study, the two factors were also labeled “bridging social capital” (seven items, α=0.85) and “bonding social capital” (three items, α=0.63).

Regarding psychological well-being, four items adopted from the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)^34,35 were used to measure individuals' perceived life satisfaction, and three items adopted from the UCLA Loneliness Scale³⁶ were used to measure individuals' perceived loneliness. Two components were extracted by factor analysis explaining 72.1% of the total variance, and also labeled “life satisfaction” (four items, α=0.89) and “loneliness” (three items, α=0.75).

Besides the previous two psychological variables, the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students³⁷ was used to assess individuals' perceived acculturative stress. Seven items were adopted from the original scale (α=0.70).

All the items measuring functions of SNS use, perceived social capital, psychological well-being, and acculturative stress are listed in Tables 1 and 2, and all of them were rated on a 7-point scale (1=“strongly disagree” and 7=“strongly agree”).

Table 1.

Variables, Questionnaire Items, and Factor Loadings

Variables	Items	Factor loadings
Functions of SNS use
SIF	One of the reasons why I use social media is to interact with others.	0.58
	One of the reasons why I use social media is to meet new people who have the similar interests as me.	0.85
	One of the reasons why I use social media is to look for news happening around the world.	0.61
	One of the reasons why I use social media is to seek more information that is hardly found from traditional media.	0.75
ERF	One of the reasons why I use social media is just to look at what happened with the people around me.	0.66
	One of the reasons why I use social media is to enjoy the fun and entertainment.	0.72
	One of the reasons why I use social media is to spend time online.	0.82
Perceived social capital
Bridging social capital	I am interested in what goes on at my university.	0.71
	I feel I am part of the community of my university.	0.76
	My university is a good place to be.	0.68
	Interacting with people at my university makes me want to try new things.	0.73
	I am willing to spend time to support general university activities.	0.83
	If I have enough money, I would be willing to contribute money to my university after graduation.	0.60
	At my university, I come into contact with new people all the time.	0.71
Bonding social capital	If I need an emergency loan of 10,000 YEN, I know someone at my university I can turn to.	0.80
	There is someone at my university I can turn to for advice about making very important decisions.	0.78
	I know people at my university well enough to get them to do anything important.	0.65
Perceived psychological well-being
Life satisfaction	The conditions of my life at Japan are excellent.	0.89
	I am satisfied with my life at my university.	0.93
	In most ways, my life is close to my ideal.	0.84
	If I could live my time over, I would change almost nothing.	0.58
Loneliness	I feel a lack of companionship.	0.91
	I feel lonely in Japan.	0.89
	I feel no one really knows me.	0.80

Table 2.

Perceived Acculturative Stress Items

Items	M	SD
Perceived acculturative stress
I feel uncomfortable adjusting to new cultural values.	3.00	1.32
I feel insecure in Japan.	2.69	1.36
I worry about my future with regard to being able to decide whether to stay here or to go back.	3.45	1.84
I feel sad leaving my relatives and friends behind.	3.40	1.54
I feel that I receive unequal treatment in Japan.	3.18	1.41
I feel that my people are discriminated against.	3.02	1.38
I feel uncomfortable adjusting to Japanese food.	2.90	1.75

Results

We first examine how SNS use influences individuals' perceived social capital and psychological well-being. In Table 3, it appears that no social capital variable or psychological well-being variable has a relationship with the amount of time, and only perceived bridging social capital has a relationship with frequency of reply (r=0.19, p<0.05). Regarding functions of SNS use, perceived bridging social capital has relationships with both SIF (r=0.39, p<0.01) and ERF (r=0.27, p<0.01), but perceived bonding social capital shows no correlation with the two functions. Perceived life satisfaction is positively related with SIF (r=0.23, p<0.01), and perceived loneliness is positively related with ERF (r=0.29, p<0.01).

Table 3.

Correlations Matrix of Variables

	Amount of time	Frequency of reply	SIF	ERF	Bridging social capital	Bonding social capital	Life satisfaction	Loneliness	Acculturative stress	M	SD
Amount of time	—	0.29^**	0.18^*	0.28^**	0.00	0.04	−0.03	0.14	0.01	3.72	1.70
Frequency of reply		—	0.27^**	0.19^*	0.19^*	0.04	−0.12	0.05	0.05	2.48	0.81
SIF			—	0.52^**	0.39^**	0.09	0.23^**	0.13	0.06	4.45	1.14
ERF				—	0.27^**	0.13	0.13	0.29^**	0.13	4.35	1.18
Bridging social capital					—	0.36^**	0.46^**	−0.03	−0.19^*	4.79	1.07
Bonding social capital						—	0.31^**	0.02	−0.22^**	5.58	0.99
Life satisfaction							—	−0.13	−0.24^**	4.59	1.22
Loneliness								—	0.40^**	3.83	1.13
Acculturative stress									—	3.09	0.90

Note. n=142. ^*p<0.05; ^**p<0.01.

Based on the correlation results, multiple regressions were conducted to test the four hypotheses. As shown in Table 4, H1 is partially supported, showing that only use of SNSs for SIF increases individuals' levels of perceived bridging social capital (β=0.33, p<0.001). H2 is rejected, showing that SNS use is not a predictor of individuals' perceived bonding social capital. Results in Table 5 partially support H3, indicating that only use of SNSs for SIF increases individuals' levels of perceived life satisfaction (β=0.23, p<0.05). H4 is also partially supported, indicating that use of SNSs for ERF increases individuals' levels of perceived loneliness (β=0.30, p<0.01).

Table 4.

Regressions Predicting Perceived Social Capital

	Bridging social capital	Bonding social capital
Predictor	β	β
Frequency of reply	0.08	0.01
SIF	0.33^***	0.03
ERF	0.08	0.11
R ²	0.17	0.02
Adjusted R²	0.15	−0.00
F	9.21^***	0.83

Note. n=142. ^***p<0.001.

Table 5.

Regressions Predicting Perceived Psychological Well-Being

	Life satisfaction	Loneliness
Predictor	β	β
SIF	0.23^*	−0.02
ERF	0.01	0.30^**
R ²	0.05	0.08
Adjusted R²	0.04	0.07
F	3.96^*	6.21^**

Note. n=142. ^*p<0.05; ^**p<0.01.

In addition, results in Table 3 show that individuals' perceived acculturative stress has no relationship with any of the SNS use variables, but significantly relates to perceived social capital (bridging social capital, r=−0.19, p<0.05; bonding social capital, r=−0.22, p<0.01) and psychological well-being (life satisfaction, r=−0.24, p<0.01; loneliness, r=0.40, p<0.01). Furthermore, using multiple regression, we obtained the results in Table 6 showing that individuals' levels of perceived acculturative stress were decreased by their perceived bonding social capital (β=−0.17, p<0.05) but increased by their perceived loneliness (β=0.39, p<0.001).

Table 6.

Regressions Predicting Perceived Acculturative Stress

	Acculturative stress
Predictor	β
Bridging social capital	−0.06
Bonding social capital	−0.17^*
Life satisfaction	−0.11
Loneliness	0.39^***
R ²	0.23
Adjusted R²	0.21
F	10.40^***

Note. n=142. ^*p<0.05; ^***p<0.001.

Discussion

Results of this study showed that it was not the intensity but the functions of SNS use that affected individuals' social capital and psychological status. By adopting Weiser's³² scale measuring functions of Internet use, we used two components to classify functions of SNS use for Chinese international students in Japan: SIF and ERF.

SIF, representing the social informational purpose of SNS use, positively contributed to individuals' bridging social capital and life satisfaction. SNS use for SIF can be regarded as a positive attitude that encourages people to engage with the world, drives them to seek more latent social ties, and supports the conversion of the latent ties to weak ties.³⁸ Meanwhile, because SIF provides more informational support, individuals' needs are very likely to be satisfied, which may make them happier and increase the possibilities to improve their quality of life. However, SIF failed to predict individuals' bonding social capital. Unlike bridging social capital, bonding social capital comprises tightly knit maintaining family members and friends within emotionally intimate relationships,²⁰ which requires a considerable consumption of time and cost to gain mutual trust. Even in the literature, there is very little strong evidence supporting SNSs' capacity for establishing the trust to build bonding social capital. Moreover, according to the media multiplicity theory,³⁹ the nature of socially oriented relationships affects the types of media used. Specifically, the stronger the social ties, the more people will use the available media to exchange information. Compared to various private channels, the Internet-based medium may not be individuals' most preferred platform to maintain strong ties.⁴⁰

By contrast, ERF, representing the entertaining recreational purposes of SNS use, was unable to predict individuals' social capital but increased their perceived loneliness. From the results, ERF was positively associated with the amount of time spent on SNSs (r=0.28, p<0.01). Individuals may be isolated because of their dependence on SNSs,²⁶ and have less time for communicating with others. Moreover, the excessive and addictive use of SNSs for recreation may cause users to indulge in the virtual space and reduce their willingness to participate in the real world. Accordingly, any of the negative life outcomes may result in an increased feeling of loneliness.²⁷ Furthermore, overusing SNSs for ERF may lead to more serious consequences than we expected, since results also show that, for Chinese international students, the more they feel lonely, the more stressed they become. These findings support the existing literature that emphasizes the negative impact of new media use on individuals' psychological well-being,^26,27 suggesting that although SNSs change the ways humans communicate, they are not a panacea⁴¹ but a double-edged sword.

Implications and Future Directions

In contrast to previous research, the present study focuses on SNS usage and effectiveness of Chinese international students, a minority group in Japan. By using the two-factor functions of SIF and ERF, we have explained both significant positive and negative effects of SNS use. Future research should consider that individuals' use behavior may be motivated by other factors besides their gratifications.¹³ As pointed out by Bandura,⁴² personal factors such as efficacy belief and environmental factors such as vicarious experience also influence individuals' media attendance and its outcomes. There is a reciprocal causation among individuals, their environment, and their behaviors.⁴³ The uses and gratifications approach has been both extended and challenged by numerous research on Internet-based media studies.^44,45 Therefore, a more comprehensive theoretical model—for instance, social cognitive theory (SCT)—is needed to explain and predict cause and effect of SNS use. Social capital theory can be a supplement to SCT, since it should be the nature of social interactions and resources embedded within the network that sustain both online and offline communities.⁴⁶

Especially for sojourners, the intercultural environment may be one of the decisive factors affecting their media attendance. Most of the previous studies regarding sojourners' new media use within acculturation contribute knowledge about new media attendance and consequences of the specific population in host countries that have significant cultural differences from their home countries.^21,47,48 Although China and Japan appear almost in the same dimensions in cultural differences diagrams, underlined by Hofstede et al., when intercultural encounter happens between one foreign individual and a new cultural environment, it is often accompanied with similar psychological and social processes in acculturation.⁸ Therefore, addressing early research limitations by studying SNSs attendance and consequences of sojourners in a host country sharing cultural proximity with their home country will enrich the understanding of cross-cultural issues involving CMC. Besides cultural differences at the national level, the individual-level measurement of cultural value such as self-construal, which originates from the individualism and collectivism dimensions^49,50 and describes individuals' perceptions toward themselves as connected with others (interdependent) or as distant from others (independent),⁵¹ can also be considered as a predictor of online and offline social relationships.

Limitations

Several limitations in the study should be noted. First, Chinese international students from a university may not be representative of Chinese sojourners in Japan. Larger and more representative samples should be gathered in future research. Second, the length of time is not sufficient to represent users' dependence on SNSs because it is difficult for them to identify the exact amount of usage time. Some attitudinal items assessing the extent to which SNSs are integrated into users' daily life should also be added to the measurements. In addition, results from the cross-sectional study may not completely represent the cause and effect of sojourners' SNS use. A longitudinal study is proposed to enable a more accurate observation of new media effectiveness in acculturation.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions that greatly helped to improve this manuscript.

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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