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Connectivity across cultures through social network sites? A study of German, Estonian and Russian Estonian social network site users
Last modified: 2011-03-26
Abstract
Social networks sites (SNS) are an international phenomenon and large ones, such as Facebook, are used by millions of people across countries and cultures. The paper addresses following questions: To what extent are SNS users through such SNS connected across cultures and countries? And to what extent do they express a need for cultural proximity through their choice of SNS and their behavior therein?
This paper is inspired by the concept of cultural proximity, which comes from the traditional media studies and was first put forward by Straubhaar (1991) and later further developed by, for instance, Iwabuchi (2002) and Rohn (2010). According to the concept of cultural proximity, audiences prefer media that was produced in their own cultural environment over imported media. This paper seeks to transfer this idea to the context of SNS. Hence, a great need for cultural proximity is seen as to be expressed in 1) the choice of a local or domestic SNS, such as StudiVZ or rate, over a foreign or international SNS, such as facebook, 2) the choice of one’s own mother tongue version of the SNS, 3) a great number of contacts from one’s own culture, and 4) the practice of forwarding and recommending online media content from one’s own cultural environment through such SNS.
The paper will present the research results of large-scale online surveys in which the connectivity across cultures and the need for cultural proximity in SNS was investigated among German, Estonian and Russian Estonian SNS users. Though an increasing number of the SNS users are members of large, international SNS, the results of the survey show that their own personal networks within these SNS exhibit very little connectivity across cultures. The surveys showed a great demand for cultural proximity, which is above all mirrored in the contact lists of the users and in the kind of media they recommend to each other via SNS. The choice of SNS, on the other hand, appeared to be a lot less influenced by a need for cultural proximity, and SNS users were seen to increasingly prefer large SNS that are more open to an international membership.
In this context, the paper emphasizes the phenomenon of network externalities, which are much more important for social media and communication platforms than they are for traditional media. The paper will show the limits of the concept of cultural proximity for understanding SNS users’ choices and it will show that the obvious low need for cultural proximity in the choice of SNS does not necessarily go hand in hand with a cross-cultural connectivity.
References
Straubhaar, J. (1991). "Beyond media imperialism: Assymetrical interdependence and cultural proximity." Critical Studies in Media Communication, 8: 1-11.
Iwabuchi, K. (2002). Recentering globalization: Popular culture and Japanese transnationalism. Durham, XC: Duke University Press.
Rohn, U. (2010). Cultural barriers to the success of foreign media content - Western media in China, India, and Japan. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Publishing.
This paper is inspired by the concept of cultural proximity, which comes from the traditional media studies and was first put forward by Straubhaar (1991) and later further developed by, for instance, Iwabuchi (2002) and Rohn (2010). According to the concept of cultural proximity, audiences prefer media that was produced in their own cultural environment over imported media. This paper seeks to transfer this idea to the context of SNS. Hence, a great need for cultural proximity is seen as to be expressed in 1) the choice of a local or domestic SNS, such as StudiVZ or rate, over a foreign or international SNS, such as facebook, 2) the choice of one’s own mother tongue version of the SNS, 3) a great number of contacts from one’s own culture, and 4) the practice of forwarding and recommending online media content from one’s own cultural environment through such SNS.
The paper will present the research results of large-scale online surveys in which the connectivity across cultures and the need for cultural proximity in SNS was investigated among German, Estonian and Russian Estonian SNS users. Though an increasing number of the SNS users are members of large, international SNS, the results of the survey show that their own personal networks within these SNS exhibit very little connectivity across cultures. The surveys showed a great demand for cultural proximity, which is above all mirrored in the contact lists of the users and in the kind of media they recommend to each other via SNS. The choice of SNS, on the other hand, appeared to be a lot less influenced by a need for cultural proximity, and SNS users were seen to increasingly prefer large SNS that are more open to an international membership.
In this context, the paper emphasizes the phenomenon of network externalities, which are much more important for social media and communication platforms than they are for traditional media. The paper will show the limits of the concept of cultural proximity for understanding SNS users’ choices and it will show that the obvious low need for cultural proximity in the choice of SNS does not necessarily go hand in hand with a cross-cultural connectivity.
References
Straubhaar, J. (1991). "Beyond media imperialism: Assymetrical interdependence and cultural proximity." Critical Studies in Media Communication, 8: 1-11.
Iwabuchi, K. (2002). Recentering globalization: Popular culture and Japanese transnationalism. Durham, XC: Duke University Press.
Rohn, U. (2010). Cultural barriers to the success of foreign media content - Western media in China, India, and Japan. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Publishing.