[LC BANDUNG] The Influence of Culture through the Social Media Platforms

Today, we can feel that the world has become a smaller place after the incorporation of social media applications. Therefore, humans can not only interact and communicate with each other through social media, but they can obtain information about the lives of other people. As an impact, each individual with their own cultural background can understand and respect each other’s traditions and norms of life [1]. As social beings, each individual has a changing nature according to the times. Likewise, culture is dynamic and always changing. Changes from culture, either directly or indirectly have an effect on local culture. We can feel this influence and find it through social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, WhatsApp, Line, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Tinder. There are several important concepts that are closely related to the influence of culture through the social media platform, namely the process of adaptation and assimilation that accompanies it.

At first glance this belief seems valid, as it seems that HCI appears to be based on the information of application processing branch in cognitive psychology: “The chapters in this book provide interim reports on the project of shaping the human applied sciences of Human-Computer Interaction that is based on a cognitive science framework [2]. Computer interfaces have become multi-modal and embedded in our daily lives. This results in a shift from manifest interaction to latent interaction, where the interaction between the human and computer interfaces have become multi-modal and embedded in our daily lives. This results in a shift from manifest interaction to latent interaction, where the interaction between the human and computer interface becomes less visible [3].

According to [4], most users believe social media is a platform to share and accumulate information. Social media also boost the continuous transformation of the prevalent mobile screen, specifically among youngsters [5]. Besides, globalization happens when there is an acceleration of the movement of people, products, and ideas between nations [6]. This is marked by increased fluidity between countries, financial and political boundaries between countries, which in turn increases the complexity of everyday problems faced by residents of these countries. Another important aspect of globalization is the massive increase in migration in the last decade, especially from poor countries to more developed countries [7].

One form of the internet that is very important in the adaptation process. These sites provide individuals with interpersonal relationships with other individuals, relational satisfaction, and ways to learn about the surrounding cultural environment. In the current era of globalization, communication is very important for aspects of life to support adaptation to a different environment and culture from ours and many individuals use social media to become more connected to other cultures. Everyone must undergo a process of adaptation and assimilation when meeting or interacting with a different environment and culture. Adaptation and assimilation as a dynamic process, where individuals after entering a foreign cultural environment will rebuild and maintain a stable relationship overall, reciprocal, and functional relationship with the environment [8].

REFERENCES

[1]   B. Alamri, “The Role of Social Media in Intercultural Adaptation: A Review of the Literature,” English Lang. Teach., vol. 11, no. 12, p. 77, Nov. 2018, doi: 10.5539/elt.v11n12p77.

[2]   J. Carroll, J., Olson, Mental models in human-computer interaction: research issues about what the user of software knows. National Academy Press, 1987.

[3]   R. Poppe, R. Rienks, and B. van Dijk, “Evaluating the Future of HCI: Challenges for the Evaluation of Emerging Applications,” in Artifical Intelligence for Human Computing, 2007, pp. 234–250.

[4]   E. Grieco, “More Americans Are Turning to Multiple Social Media Sites For News.” 2018, [Online]. Available: http://www.pewresearch.org/facttank/2017/11/02/more-americans-are-turning-to-multiple-social-media-sites-for-news/.

[5]   D. Cunningham, S., Craig, “Being ‘really real’ on YouTube: Authenticity, community and brand culture in social media entertainment,” 2017, vol. 164, no. 1, pp. 71–81, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X17709098.

[6]   J. Coatsworth, “Globalization, growth and welfare in history,” vol. 32, no. 1, 2004, [Online]. Available: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3065&context=jssw.

[7]   B. Q.-H. D. Suarez-Orozco MM, “Globalization, culture and education in the new millennium,” 2004, [Online]. Available: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol32/iss1/22/.

[8]   W. B. & Y. Y. K. Gudykunst, Communicating with strangers: an approach to intercultural communication. Boston : McGraw-Hill, 2003.