Xuanrui Liang | 2026 I.S. Symposium
Name: Xuanrui Liang
Title: Social Media and International Students’ Adaptation to College
Major: Communication Studies
Advisor: Michelle Johnson
This study examines how social media shape international students’ identity negotiation and cultural adaptation during the transition from high school to college. Drawing on theories of identity negotiation, social information processing, and cross-cultural adaptation, the study explores whether social media function as a bridge that supports adjustment or a barrier that complicates integration. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 33 international students at ºÚÁÏÉç. The survey measured social media use across relational, informational, and entertainment dimensions, as well as identity negotiation and adaptation outcomes. Results indicate that social media serve primarily as supportive tools for maintaining relationships, accessing campus resources, and learning cultural norms. Participants generally reported positive perceptions of social media, which were associated with a stronger sense of acceptance in the host environment. However, overall relationships between social media use and adaptation outcomes were limited, suggesting that social media are only one of multiple factors influencing adjustment. Few significant differences were found across friendship groups or levels of social media use, indicating that social media play a consistent role regardless of students’ offline social networks. These findings highlight the importance of social media as a communicative resource during transition while emphasizing the complexity of international students’ adaptation processes.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
