Dynamic Social Impact Theory

Following the sociocultural traditions of communication, the authors explore the commonalities between Latané's dynamic social impact theory (DSIT), and the concepts of homophily and heterophily, and find that the markers of DSIT appear quite strikingly similar to the concepts similarity espoused by homophily (i.e., clustering, correlation, and consolidation), while the continuing diversity in DSIT is very similar to heterophily, which exists in groups and cultures. The authors test these concepts by analyzing two different blog conversations and find support to the above propositions. In the process, the authors suggest that social media should be retitled sociocultural media as this media aids in the creation and maintenance of cultures that coexist with those of differing viewpoints.

Cultural Identity Preservation Through Social Media

This chapter explores cultural identity negotiation on social media for a specific refugee group. Previous research indicates the importance of a sense of community and cultural preservation in regards to establishing and maintaining a cultural identity for this specific group. The group, Meskhetian Turks, is an example of ethnic identity and an established ethnicity through shared history and struggle. This chapter focuses on the virtual implications of the group's identity in social media. More specifically, it explores how social media platforms serve as a cultural unifier, where cultural identity is maintained and perpetuated in the face of an unattainable physical homeland.

Becoming Citizens in the Age of Online Social Networks

New media studies have attracted increasing scholarly attention as communication technologies become integrated into our everyday lives. New media provide unique contexts to share, record, and extend civic life and motivate civic commitment in the digital era. This chapter addresses the intersection of new media, culture, and political communication by exploring youths' civic engagement in China and Japan through individual voluntarism, civic participation, and political activism. It interrogates the civic use of social network sites in the digital age so as to increase our understanding of intercultural online interactions. Through the case studies of China and Japan, this research adds to the knowledge of intercultural communication in the networked society, with its potential to promote more democratic forms of engagement between citizens and states in the contexts of new media.

Facebook and the Interaction of Culture and Conflict

The intersection of culture and conflict is relatively understudied in communication, focusing on mass-self communication and power relations and new media scholarship. Conflict and the cultural dimensions in media coverage are well documented, but with less attention to new media cultural settings, often limited to use as one-way broadcasting media or as audiencing participants in social media marketing. Potentially more interactive communication exists within a closed community, especially because Facebook has defining cultural, psychological, and psychosocial characteristics. Conflict message interactions facilitate studying the intersection of culture and conflict within a new media setting. This chapter focuses on conflict within the cultural context of Facebook closed communities, theorizes about this relationship, and tests its application.

Social Media and Infectious Disease Perceptions in a Multicultural Society

Mass media is recognized in health communication as a gatekeeper, alerting the public to what is important with a focus on accuracy and relevancy. This is done through media framing, by which mass media sets the tone through which the public will view the message. Social media has emerged as a force in health communication with the same potential for media framing as mass media; however, with social media there is no formal gatekeeper. Looking at two major disease outbreaks, Ebola and Zika, this chapter examines the influence and effect of social media on health communication. The Zika outbreak in Miami was examined with social listening methods to determine both the effect of mass media on social media and of social media on the effectiveness of traditional health communication outlets to spread their message. The authors conclude that social media is both an asset and a liability during disease outbreaks, and its effect depends on audiences' cultural attitudes and trust toward authorities and the media.

American People vs. Politicians

To study political identity construction, a thematic analysis is used to explore online reviews of the book Beating Obamacare. Themes that emerged construct four political identities relevant to the construction Obamacare, the American public, President Obama and politicians, and those in opposition to Obamacare. The construction of these identities contributes to group vitality. This process is facilitated by the juxtaposition of the construction of the American public with those who oppose Obamacare versus politicians. Notably, this construction is accomplished with the near absence of reference to political party affiliation creating a realignment of political identity in a way that provides stronger group vitality than would be achieved across traditional partisan lines. This chapter has implications for understanding how identity is constructed online to demonstrate group vitality in ways that facilitate intracultural and intercultural communication.

The Influence of Groupthink on Culture and Conflict in Twitter

Groupthink puts pressure on individuals to conform to social norms, but anonymity has been found to reduce or lessen such influence. Apart from anonymity, the significance of the topic and self-censorship may or may not contribute to the influence of groupthink. Groupthink has been studied in the context of social media using various approaches, but to date it remains unclear how much and to what extent it influences the conflict among users within this cultural context. This chapter describes approaches to studying the influence of groupthink on the users of an open social media platform (e.g., Twitter) and proposes a methodology for conducting a study. Using data from a selected hashtag, it reports on the application of theory to research, considers the role and influence of groupthink, and discusses the implications of the findings for reconceptualizing approaches to the study of new media.

The Benefits and Challenges of New Media for Intercultural Conflict

This chapter examines current research on intercultural interactions over new media with a particular emphasis on those studies involving conflict. Two main points are emphasized: 1) new media have several characteristics that differentiate them from traditional forms of media and shape intercultural conflict, providing benefits but also creating challenges not encountered before; and 2) traditional theoretical explanations of the relationship between media and conflict are inadequate for explaining the role that individual and group characteristics play in intercultural conflict in the digital age. Certain theories are discussed in relation to the second point. Overall, the chapter proposes questions that could advance research in this emerging area.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of “Minority Women for Trump” Campaigns on Social Media

Political communication in the digital age has brought new insights and challenges to American citizens across parties, genders, and ethnicity. The 2016 Presidential election has drawn global attention just as previous US presidential campaigns. Moreover, with two opposing and controversial candidates for the presidency, voters are divided across a wide range of issues. This chapter is interested in various minority women for Trump campaigns on social media sites, in the time frame when Trump's lewd comments about women were made headlines before the third Presidential Debate until Election Day. Selective and sampled posts from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are analyzed. How did minority women position themselves in Trump's campaign on social media discourse? How did minority women make decisions to support Trump's campaign? How did minority women relate to Trump's lewd comments about women? These research questions are answered to offer readers insights of minority women's political engagement.

Use of New Media in Intercultural Communication Classes

Since the term intercultural communication was first used by Edward T. Hall in 1959, more than half a century has passed, and the context of intercultural communication has gone through dramatic changes. With the advent of the internet and the digital media technologies, instructors can offer students computer-mediated intercultural communication using a variety of new media such as video-conferencing and instant messaging. Drawing from contact theory, learning cycle theory, and new media theory, the authors examine the use of computer-mediated intercultural communication, report various ways that new media are used in classrooms based on an online survey, discuss its benefit and limitations, and review a best practice example, a case of “Global Understanding Course” coordinated by East Carolina University and Global Partners in Education. The authors believe that integrating the use of new media in intercultural communication education helps prepare students for the global society.