Social media and homelessness - Essay Example

The study aims at finding out how the influx of social media and internet technology has impacted the foreign students and made them adapt or fail to adapt to their new country. This is explained using several theories but the most relevant one is that by Kim Izumi. The theory explains that before the adaptation of an individual to a foreign land, the communication practices may be accelerated or even impeded initially. The same goes for adapting to the host nationals which may be impeded or accelerated initially.

Method: This was a cross-cultural research with the participants being students in a foreign country studying or those who have recently returned from studying abroad. The sample size was 43 students with 28 women and 15 men drawn from China, Indonesia, America and other nations. The study lasted for eight months and the data which was measured was collected through in-depth interview method. The data was analyzed qualitatively through transcribing of the audio recorded interview. Summaries were then made of the results and put in an excel file for comparison (Sandel, 2014).

Initially, the students spent close to 10 hours on a daily basis communicating with their friends and family back home. This time, however, continued to reduce as they adapted to their new environment and even started making friends from the home nation. In the 10 hours, they spent the majority of the time on facebook while the Chinese were using QQ which is their social media from China to communicate.