As someone who has had to experience a different culture, I can relate to how understanding different cultures on social media can be difficult. There have been countless times where I say something in English which I directly translate from my native language and when I say it to my Scottish friends it comes off as rude even though my intentions would have been to be nice. Thinking about this experience, I thought it would be interesting to take a look into the crossing of cultures on social media.
Cindy King talks about the friction that can be encountered on social media due to different cultures. On her article, King mentions 5 points which need to be kept in mind when we are interacting with others online:
In ‘New Media: A Critical Introduction’, the author’s discuss how all cultures are evolving into a merged culture with technology, a cyberculture. This idea of a cyberculture explores how when interacting with people online, characters from different cultures are gathering their diverse aspects and forming an interlocking cultural relationship which is built online. Technology has succeeded in compressing time and space (Chen, 2012) which allows people from all over the globe to talk to each other in a matter of seconds.
So while there may be friction on social media websites due to the fact that people misunderstand each other, technology is allowing people to potentially be more open to different cultures and learn more about them. Once we break down the cultural barrier and adapt to the idea that there are indeed different people with varying forms of expression, we can start to try and understand these differences and this will lead to the internet being a place where we can build relationships on a global level.
- You need to take different cultural baggage into account when trying to connect with international audiences using social media.
- You need to identify where cultural differences impact your social media communication.
- Use the cultural differences you notice, together with an objective view of the situation, to ask the right questions.
- Take a step back and look for cultural differences before adapting your own communication.
- Seek appropriate expertise when international social media does not get through on basic levels of communication.
In ‘New Media: A Critical Introduction’, the author’s discuss how all cultures are evolving into a merged culture with technology, a cyberculture. This idea of a cyberculture explores how when interacting with people online, characters from different cultures are gathering their diverse aspects and forming an interlocking cultural relationship which is built online. Technology has succeeded in compressing time and space (Chen, 2012) which allows people from all over the globe to talk to each other in a matter of seconds.
So while there may be friction on social media websites due to the fact that people misunderstand each other, technology is allowing people to potentially be more open to different cultures and learn more about them. Once we break down the cultural barrier and adapt to the idea that there are indeed different people with varying forms of expression, we can start to try and understand these differences and this will lead to the internet being a place where we can build relationships on a global level.
The main thought taken from my research on intercultural communication online is that we need to learn to be more open-minded when speaking to people from different cultures as even though we may think someone is being rude or unpleasant that might not be their intention. There are many interesting articles on this topic which are linked below!
References and Sources Used:
CHEN, G., 2012. The Impact of New Media on Intercultural Communication in Global Context.: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=com_facpubs
KING, C., 2012-2014. Cultural Differences In International Social Media. http://internationalsocialmedia.com/cultural-differences-in-international-social-media/
KING, C., 2012-2014. How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media.
http://cindyking.biz/how-cultural-differences-impact-international-social-media/
LISTER, M., DOVEY, J., GIDDINGS, S., GRANT, I. AND KELLY, K., 2003. New Media: A Critical Introduction. Great Britain: Routledge, London.
http://mashable.com/2011/02/23/social-media-culture/
https://www.thoughtfarmer.com/blog/5-lessons-cross-cultural-social-networking/?utm_campaign=crossculturalBlogPost&utm_medium=microblog&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=christweet
http://www.webpronews.com/is-social-media-hurting-our-culture-2012-06
CHEN, G., 2012. The Impact of New Media on Intercultural Communication in Global Context.: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=com_facpubs
KING, C., 2012-2014. Cultural Differences In International Social Media. http://internationalsocialmedia.com/cultural-differences-in-international-social-media/
KING, C., 2012-2014. How Cultural Differences Impact International Social Media.
http://cindyking.biz/how-cultural-differences-impact-international-social-media/
LISTER, M., DOVEY, J., GIDDINGS, S., GRANT, I. AND KELLY, K., 2003. New Media: A Critical Introduction. Great Britain: Routledge, London.
http://mashable.com/2011/02/23/social-media-culture/
https://www.thoughtfarmer.com/blog/5-lessons-cross-cultural-social-networking/?utm_campaign=crossculturalBlogPost&utm_medium=microblog&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=christweet
http://www.webpronews.com/is-social-media-hurting-our-culture-2012-06