Transitioning through social media: International students' SNS use, perceived social support, and acculturative stress

Abstract Social networking sites (SNSs) are becoming an increasingly important communication tool for international students. Research suggests that it could facilitate the acculturation process. However, the mechanisms through which such facilitation take place are still under-investigated. This study examined the role of perceived social support from home/host country as mediators through which home/host SNSs use were associated with international students' acculturative stress. By surveying international students in a large American university (N = 322), the study found that (1) both perceived social support from home and host country were related to less acculturative stress; (2) SNS use with host national was associated with less acculturative stress through the increased level of social support from host country; (3) SNS use with distant and local conational was related neither to perceived social support from home country nor to acculturative stress. Among the control variables, we also found that (1) non-SNS mediated communication (i.e., email, text messages, and phones calls) with distant conational as well as face-to-face communication with local conational were related to less acculturative stress through the increased level of social support from home country; (2) non-SNS mediated communication with host national was associated with less acculturative stress through the increased level of perceived social support from host country. We discuss how these findings help us understand international students' acculturation experience in the age of digital media.