International Journal of Communication 15(2021), 4011–4033

1932–8036/20210005

The Medium Is the Message:
WeChat, YouTube, and Facebook Usage and Acculturation Outcomes
RAN JU1
LEAH HAMILTON
MATTHEW MCLARNON
Mount Royal University, Canada
Social media usage has been recognized as an integral part of immigrants’ acculturation
experiences, yet research on social media is just emerging, and more detailed
understanding is needed. Drawing on the interactive theory of communication and crosscultural adaptation (ITCCA), the current project used a mixed-method approach to
understand how Chinese immigrants’ social media use influences their acculturation
experiences. Through focus groups and a survey, we examined which social media
platforms Chinese immigrants use and for what purposes during their acculturation
process, and what influence social media use has on their acculturation process in Canada.
Our findings expand the scope of the ITCCA and offer important practical implications for
service providers supporting newcomers.
Keywords: communication, acculturation, Chinese immigrants, social media

Today, immigrants represent more than 20% of Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2020). Importantly,
immigrants have made immeasurable contributions to Canada, and the success of Canada’s immigration
programs depends on continuing to ensure that immigrants are well-acculturated to Canadian life and society
(Hussen, 2018). Over the last decade, an increasing number of Canadian immigrants have come from China
(Hussen, 2018). Compared with other immigrant groups (e.g., Europeans), some evidence suggests Chinese
immigrants may struggle more with acculturation because of perceived cultural distance and language barriers
(Galchenko & Van De Vijver, 2007). Therefore, it is imperative to understand the unique experiences of Chinese
immigrants to help improve acculturation outcomes.

Ran Ju: rju@mtroyal.ca
Leah Hamilton: lhamilton@mtroyal.ca
Matthew McLarnon: mmclarnon@mtroyal.ca
Date submitted: 2021-02-26
1

This study was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engage Grant

(SSHRC-PEG) No. 892-2019-2005. The authors would like to thank the partner organization, Calgary
Chinese Dongbei Association, and two research assistants, Siyin Liang and Lauren Trelford, for their support.
They also thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.
Copyright © 2021 (Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon). Licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available at http://ijoc.org.

4012 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

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Recently, social media has been recognized as an integral part of immigrants’ acculturation process
(Veronis, Tabler, & Ahmed, 2018), especially as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed immigrant-serving agencies
to create virtual programs essentially overnight (Esses et al., 2021). Yet, research on social media is just
emerging, and more detailed understanding is needed (Croucher, 2011; Shuter, 2012). In this context, the
current project uses a mixed-method approach (focus groups and a survey) to understand how Chinese
immigrants’ social media use influences their acculturation experiences.
We begin this article by highlighting the interactive theory of communication and cross-cultural
adaptation (ITCCA), which provides the theoretical basis for our studies. We then discuss social media use
in relation to acculturation, drawing on the ITCCA to propose research questions. Finally, we detail the
findings offered by this project.
Literature Review
Interactive Theory of Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation
The interactive theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation (Kim, 2001) provides a
holistic framework to understand acculturation by identifying various influences and interactions among the
factors that impact cross-cultural adaptation. The ITCCA suggests that predisposing factors (e.g., proximity
to receiving country culture), environmental factors (e.g., host receptivity) and communication factors all
contribute to the success of individuals’ cultural adaptation. Among these factors, social communication
plays a key role (Kim, 2001), facilitating sociocultural and psychological adaptation (Yu, Foroudi, & Gupta,
2019) and host culture identification (Li & Tsai, 2015). Social communication includes both host and ethnic
communication and is enacted personally or through mass media. Host communication refers to
interpersonal and mass communication with members of the receiving country’s culture, and ethnic
communication refers to interactions with individuals and mass media content from the ethnic culture.
Traditionally, host and ethnic interpersonal communication occur in homes, workplaces, and
classrooms, while host and ethnic mass communication occur in mass media such as newspapers, television,
and movies (Kim, 2001). More recently, with an evolving landscape of new media, research has found that
acculturation can be facilitated through social media (Park, Song, & Lee, 2014). Although research on social
media and acculturation is growing, significant gaps exist. For example, most studies focus on international
students (e.g., Yang, 2018) and fail to consider broader immigration experiences (Croucher, 2011). Several
studies (e.g., Alencar, 2017) explored immigrants’ experiences, and the current study joins this endeavor
to further investigate this important and timely topic.
Social Media and Acculturation
Social media has become an integral part of immigrants’ adaptation (McKelvy & Chatterjee, 2017).
Through social media, immigrants can make connections with the host culture, improve language fluency, and
find information about the receiving country (Forbush & Foucault-Welles, 2016). Social media also allows
immigrants to maintain connections with their home culture, strengthen their ethnic identity, and develop
ingroup connections (S. Hu, Liu, Zhang, & Wang, 2020). Although it is challenging to develop a clear definition

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The Medium Is the Message 4013

of social media, scholars agree that social media has the following commonalities: (a) platforms based on Web
applications; (b) presenting user-generated content; (c) the ability of individuals and groups to create userspecific profiles; and (d) facilitating the development of social networks (Obar & Wildman, 2015). In the current
study, any platform that satisfies these characteristics is considered social media.
Past research has found that different immigrant groups use social media for different purposes.
Some studies have found that Facebook is one of the most frequently used platforms among immigrants,
including Chinese international students, for host cultural communication (Hofhuis, Hanke, & Rutten, 2019).
Other studies have found that immigrants use Facebook mainly to connect with family and friends at home
or to express their ethnic cultural identity (Lim & Pham, 2016). Of relevance to the current project, other
researchers have suggested that, for Chinese immigrants, WeChat is most prevalent for both host and ethnic
communication (Chen, Butler, & Liang, 2018). These findings highlight the importance of focusing on specific
immigrant groups to understand how each group uses social media differently, including what platforms
they use and how they use those platforms. This is particularly important given the current transition to
providing settlement services in virtual formats (Helps, Silvius, & Gibson, 2020). A greater understanding
of social media use will help settlement agencies deliver targeted settlement programs.
Another gap in the current literature is that the role of mass communication on social media in the
acculturation process is largely unexplored. Instead, most studies have focused on interpersonal
communication (e.g., Yang, 2018) because social media provides new ways to interact with people from
home and host societies (Komito, 2011). However, social media also provides mass communication
opportunities and has outpaced newspapers as the dominant news medium (Shearer, 2018). Facebook,
YouTube, and Twitter are the major platforms from which people currently obtain information (Smith &
Anderson, 2018). For immigrants, learning about culture and language through mass social media
communication could play a significant role in their acculturation.
Although past literature has provided a foundation on which to examine how social media use
impacts acculturation, it has not provided sufficient information on how specific groups, such as Chinese
immigrants, use social media for various communication activities. This includes key questions concerning
how social media is used for mass communication and interpersonal communication during acculturation.
Thus, to provide a comprehensive understanding of how social media influences acculturation, we explored
the following research question:
RQ1:

Which social media platforms do Chinese immigrants use, and for what purposes, during
acculturation?
The Impact of Social Media Use on Acculturation
Immigrants engage in various types of social communication, which can impact acculturation. The

ITCCA (Kim, 2001) proposes that host communication facilitates individuals’ acculturation, and studies of
social media and acculturation have supported this notion. It is commonly observed that host communication
activities on social media, especially interpersonal communication, positively contribute to well-being,
managing uncertainty, stress reduction (Rui & Wang, 2015), building host social capital (Alencar, 2017),

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International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

facilitating host cultural identity (Du & Lin, 2019), and enhancing individuals’ sociocultural acculturation (Ju,
Jia, & Shoham, 2016).
However, the effects of host mass communication from social media are still unclear. Only a few
studies have provided answers, but these have not been consistently aligned with the ITCCA. For example,
past studies have found that immigrants had greater concerns about the credibility of social media
information, which may detract from their acculturation (S. Hu et al., 2020). It is also common for
immigrants to encounter discriminatory information on social media, thereby negatively impacting their
acculturation process (Lim & Pham, 2016).
According to the ITCCA, ethnic communication in acculturation generally has a negative long-term
impact, although it can ease initial stress (Kim, 2001). Specifically, although ethnic social media communication
provides emotional and social support and helps maintain connections with ethnic society (Hofhuis et al., 2019),
in the long run, ethnic social media communication distances immigrants from the host culture. This can create
alienation from and negative perceptions of the receiving country (Croucher & Rahmani, 2015), contributing
to ethnic identity salience (Hofhuis et al., 2019) and thus having a negative impact on acculturation.
However, past findings have not been unequivocal. For instance, Du and Lin (2019) found that ethnic
social media communication was irrelevant to Chinese immigrants’ ethnic cultural identification, although the
authors did not specify whether it was interpersonal or mass communication from social media. In addition,
ethnic communication on social media can have differential effects for different immigrant groups. For example,
Chinese international students use social media to keep in touch, discuss assignments, and share study tips,
bolstering their mental health (Cao & Zhang, 2012). Furthermore, most of the existing studies on ethnic social
media communication only examined interpersonal communication; less is known about the impact of ethnic
mass social media communication. A wealth of literature (e.g., Moon & Park, 2007) has demonstrated the
influence of traditional mass media on acculturation, generally finding that exposure to host country mass
media has a positive influence on acculturation, while exposure to ethnic mass media reinforced ethnic identity
and a sense of belonging to one’s ethnic culture. In the current study, we examine whether these effects hold
when mass media are consumed through social media.
In sum, past studies have demonstrated inconsistent findings about the effects of social media on
acculturation. One possible explanation is that most studies failed to recognize the intricate nature of social
media communication. Social media can transcend the boundaries of interpersonal and mass communication,
as well as ethnic and host communication. For example, although Facebook is generally considered a host
communication platform, ethnic communication occurs on Facebook as well. Immigrants connect to other
individuals through social media; however, they also consume information and news on social media. To
understand the impact of such complex communication platforms, we must consider the different types of
communication happening on social media. Focusing on Chinese immigrants in Canada, this study asks:
RQ2:

What are the acculturation outcomes associated with Chinese immigrants’ social media use?
To answer these two questions, we conducted two studies using a mixed-method approach. Study 1

used focus groups to seek qualitative information that describes Chinese immigrants’ experiences of using

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The Medium Is the Message 4015

social media in the acculturation process. Built on the results from Study 1, Study 2 used a survey to explore
the relations between specific social media use and acculturation outcomes.
Study 1: Focus Groups
Method
Three focus groups were conducted in Mandarin in February 2020. Consecutive interpretation
(Mandarin and English) was used so that all researchers could follow the conversation and ask follow-up
questions. The participants (n = 24; 8 each) were recruited via a partner organization that provides services to
Chinese immigrants. On average, focus groups lasted 90 minutes. Focus group questions were semi-structured
and asked about participants’ experiences using social media during their acculturation in Canada, and their
perceptions of social media’s influences on their acculturation. At the end of the focus group, participants
completed a demographic survey and an English proficiency scale (Bernstein, Park, Shin, Cho, & Park, 2011).
Participants
Participants (10 women and 14 men) were from mainland China and had lived in Canada for 10
years or less at the time of participation (M = 4.39). The average age was 47.54 years (SD = 17.00). The
majority (n = 16) held an undergraduate degree or above, and about half (n = 10) were employed. About
one-third (n = 9) immigrated to Canada through the family class, 10 immigrated through either the
provincial nominee program or as skilled workers, four participants were dependents, and one participant
entered as an international student. On a 4-point scale (1 = poor, 4 = excellent), participants self-reported
fairly low English proficiency (M = 1.79, SD = 0.80).
Analyses
The focus groups were digitally recorded, manually transcribed, and translated by two native
Mandarin speakers. The transcripts were cross-checked to ensure accuracy. Data were analyzed for themes
around acculturation and perceived impacts of social media. Using the descriptive coding method (Saldaña,
2013), two of the authors and two research assistants independently created a list of codes. The team then
discussed and compared each list until consensus was reached to establish a comprehensive coding list.
Next, this list was used to code the transcripts by all team members independently again. After this round
of coding, the team discussed discrepancies until complete consensus was reached. Subsequently, a final
code list was established. After two research assistants conducted the final coding of the data, the core
investigators developed themes from the data, also resulting in complete agreement (Saldaña, 2013).
Representative quotes were selected to demonstrate the findings.
Results
We asked participants which social media platforms they used during their resettlement in Canada
and for what purposes. Table 1 provides a summary. WeChat was used most frequently and for a variety of
purposes, including connecting with family and friends in China and gathering resettlement information.

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International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

Table 1. Use of Social Media Platforms.
Social Media
Platform

Purpose

WeChat

Connect with friends and family in China;

Frequency

Language

Connect with Chinese immigrants in
Canada; Read local news; Access informal
resettlement information

Very frequent

Mandarin

YouTube

Learn English; Entertainment; Local news

Moderately frequent

Mandarin; English

Facebook

Connect with Canadian friends

Moderately frequent

English

WhatsApp

Connect with friends from school

Very infrequent

English

News

Very infrequent

English

Twitter

As one participant explained, “WeChat, as a platform for communication, can satisfy 90% of the needs of a
person.” Many participants indicated that they use YouTube fairly frequently, particularly to learn English,
to get local news and information, and for entertainment. Though Facebook was used less frequently, it
emerged as a means of connecting with host country individuals. However, no meaningful themes emerged
for WhatsApp and Twitter because participants used these platforms infrequently. We next describe the
themes that emerged from the three most used platforms: WeChat, YouTube, and Facebook.
A Wealth of Resettlement Information on Social Media
Participants indicated that social media had a positive impact on their acculturation. Consistent with
past research (Alencar, 2017), participants found a host of valuable information about Canada on social media
(WeChat in particular). Importantly, this information was considered most valuable early in resettlement:
WeChat groups help us a lot when we first came. For new immigrants, if they don’t know
anyone here, their life will be very difficult. Very difficult. Since I have a relative who has
lived here for about 20 years, he helped me a lot. He recommended many WeChat groups,
such as the house group, the vehicle maintenance group, the house or the apartment
renting group.
Social Media Can Help With Psychological Adaptation
Several (younger) participants described how they used Facebook to connect with friends, particularly
people they met at school or language classes. One participant described, “After I registered for (Facebook), I
made some friends. At that time, I was learning English, so I made some foreign friends.” This is also consistent
with previous research suggesting that Facebook is used by immigrants, particularly Chinese international
students, to develop and maintain host cultural communication (Hofhuis et al., 2019). Other participants
described how they “watch the news on YouTube and other things on Facebook.” They explained that they
enjoy the diversity of opinions on YouTube and how they can learn about almost anything.

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The Medium Is the Message 4017

Social Media Is “Good and Bad at the Same Time”
Despite these benefits, participants were keenly aware of some of the paradoxes inherent in social
media use. They saw social media, particularly WeChat, as vital for the acculturation process, yet also as
something that hinders long-term integration into Canadian society. One participant expressed this tension:
In my opinion, social media has two sides. The positive side is, particularly, when we first
arrived, everything was new for us; WeChat groups helped us to know a lot of people.
WeChat groups also let us know a lot of activities. These activities gave us an excellent
opportunity to communicate with different people. So, we knew many neighbors. Then,
we could often connect with them. Yet, the negative thing is that to some extent, the
groups limit my view. I tend to learn about local life from the WeChat groups instead of
communicating with Canadians.
Furthermore, for English language acquisition, social media was also viewed as a double-edged
sword. On one hand, social media facilitated language acquisition, and almost all participants found YouTube
helpful in this regard. For instance, one participant stated, “If I want to learn English, I will use YouTube.”
On the other hand, however, there was consensus that WeChat hinders English language acquisition.
Now, WeChat has everything. There are all Chinese immigrants. I think this, more or less,
hinders our communication with local people. It hinders our acculturation. It is a small
circle. If we don’t have this circle, we have to step out and communicate with local people.
Ideally, my English should be okay because I have been here for such a long time.
However, since the groups cater to all my needs, I don’t need to speak (English).
While participants appreciated that other Chinese immigrants translated local news and information
into Mandarin, the availability of these translations dissuaded them from reading local news in English. One
participant explained, “You would just read these news stories in Chinese . . . because people have already
translated that news for you.”
Cultural Comfort Zone: WeChat “Makes Us Stay in This Circle”
When asked how social media negatively impacts their acculturation, participants indicated that,
over time, WeChat becomes a cultural bubble that limits connections outside the Chinese immigrant
community. For instance, one participant stated, “Talking about hinderance, I do feel WeChat is a big
obstacle to communicate with locals. Because I, myself, just like this comfort zone so much, and want to
stay in and don’t want to come out.” This is consistent with findings that ethnic communication on social
media helps immigrants maintain connections with their ethnic group and provides social support but does
not facilitate connections with the host society (e.g., Hofhuis et al., 2019). Another participant likened this
comfort zone to an “invisible wall” preventing Chinese immigrants from connecting with locals:
Then, after staying in this comfort zone for a long time, you get used to it. So if you want
to challenge a person to step outside of the comfort zone, it is hard for that person. . . .

4018 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

So there are very few people would like to step outside (of the comfort zone). . . . So this
is the invisible wall that social media has built for us, let us stay in the comfort zone, the
more comfortable we get, the less we want to go out.
In sum, the results of the focus groups provide preliminary evidence demonstrating that social
media plays a substantial role in the acculturation of Chinese immigrants in Canada. Moreover, responses
illustrated the complexities and tensions inherent in immigrants’ use of social media. Although participants
discussed Facebook and YouTube less often than WeChat, the former two platforms were discussed less
negatively than WeChat. However, WeChat has a ubiquitous influence, which is perceived as valuable during
the early phases of resettlement. But over time, WeChat can lead to the development a cultural bubble,
stifling English proficiency and inhibiting connections with the host community. These results informed the
development and design of Study 2. In particular, we sought to further understand how specific social media
usage is associated with acculturation outcomes.
Study 2: Survey
Study 2 explored the relations among specific social media usage (platform and purposes) and
acculturation outcomes through a survey. As noted, we focused on the three platforms identified in Study
1: WeChat, YouTube, and Facebook. Participants used these three platforms mainly to look for information
about Canada, connect with local Canadians, and learn English. Additionally, YouTube and WeChat had their
own unique usage. WeChat was heavily used for connecting with family and friends back home and
connecting with local Chinese immigrants. YouTube was heavily used for watching English and Chinese
shows. In terms of acculturation outcomes, we built on Study 1 to specifically focus on sociocultural
adaptation, psychological adaptation, ethnic (Chinese) and host (Canadian) identity, and English proficiency,
which corresponds with the focal outcomes investigated in previous studies (e.g., Du & Lin, 2019). Figure 1
presents the proposed model central to Study 2.

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The Medium Is the Message 4019

WeChat
Info
WeChat
Learn
WeChat
Imm
WeChat
Friends

SCA1

SCA

SCA2
SCA3
PA1

PA

YouTube
Info

PA2
PA3

Chi ID1

YouTube
E.Show

Ch
ID

Chi ID2
Chi ID3

YouTube
C.Show
YouTube
Learn

Can ID1

Can
ID

Can ID3

Facebook
Info
Facebook
People

Can ID2

ENG1

ENG

ENG2
ENG3
ENG4

Facebook
Learn
Figure 1. Conceptual depiction of focal structural equation model. Info = consuming information
about Canada; Learn = learning English; Imm= connecting with Chinese immigrants; Friends =
connecting with family and friends in China; E.Show = watching English shows; C.Show =
watching Chinese shows; SCA = sociocultural adaptation; PA = psychological adaptation; Ch ID =
Chinese identity; Can ID = Canadian identity; ENG = English language skills. The control variables,
omitted for clarity, were only regressed on the five acculturation outcomes.

4020 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

Method
Study 2 involved collection of data through an online questionnaire sent by the partner organization
to its members in July 2020. Two of the research team members also shared the recruitment materials on
their social media. The questionnaire was available in Mandarin and English, and participants were able to
choose the version they preferred to complete (the vast majority, 93.1%, completed the Mandarin version).
A total of 369 questionnaires were completed. After deleting responses from participants who did not identify
as Chinese immigrants, who have lived in Canada for > 10 years, who failed the attention check questions,
or who finished < 50% of the questionnaire, we retained a total of 145 valid responses for analysis.
Participants
The participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 85 years (M = 37.78, SD = 10.30). The sample was
71.9% female (28.1% male). The average length of time living in Canada was 6.19 years (SD = 2.61). The
majority (43.8%) of the respondents held a bachelor’s degree, 30.1% held a master’s degree, and 15.1%
held a two-year college degree. More than one third (37.5%) were employed full time, 13% were employed
part time, 14.4% were homemakers, and 9.6% were self-employed.
Measures
Informed by the results from Study 1, a social media usage measure was constructed targeting
WeChat, Facebook, and YouTube. The specific communication activities on these platforms were grouped
into four types of social communication based on the ITCCA, and items specific to each activity and platform
were developed: (1) ethnic interpersonal communication: interacting with other Chinese immigrants
(WeChat item) and interacting with family and friends back home (WeChat item); (2) ethnic mass
communication: watching Chinese shows (YouTube item); (3) host interpersonal communication: interacting
with local Canadians (Facebook item); and (4) host mass communication: reading/watching information
about Canada (items for WeChat, Facebook, and YouTube), learning English (items for WeChat, Facebook,
and YouTube), and watching English shows (YouTube item). Participants were asked to indicate the
frequency with which they used a given social media platform for the specific purpose listed using a 7-point
Likert-type scale (1 = never, 7 = always). Thus, the measure constructed contained 11 items: four on
WeChat, four on YouTube, and three on Facebook. A sample item of the scale was: “I use WeChat to
read/watch information about Canada.”
The Revised Sociocultural Adaptation Scale (Wilson, Ward, Fetvadjiev, & Bethel, 2017) was used to
measure sociocultural adaptation, the extent to which immigrants have adapted to Canadian culture. The
original 11-item scale measures four subdimensions of sociocultural adaptation: interpersonal and social
interaction, community engagement, ecological factors, and work- and study-related challenges (the host
language skills dimension was dropped because English skills were measured using another scale). Using a 7point scale, participants indicated how competent they were in different behaviors related to sociocultural
adaptation (1 = not at all competent, 7 = extremely competent). The nine-item scale had a reliability of .93.

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

The Medium Is the Message 4021

To measure psychological adaptation, the extent to which participants felt comfortable living in Canada,
Gao and Gudykunst’s (1990) measure was used. Their scale has eight items (two English skills items were
removed). Participants indicated their comfort with different aspects related to living in Canada using a 7-point
scale (1 = not at all, 7 = extremely). The remaining six-item scale yielded a reliability of .89.
English skills were measured by Marian, Blumenfeld, and Kaushanskaya’s (2007) scale. This four-item
scale asked participants to report their ability in speaking, listening to, reading, and writing English using an 11point scale (0 = none, 10 = perfect), Cronbach’s α = .96.
Participants’ identity was measured using Phinney and Ong’s (2007) three-item ethnic identity scale.
The scale was repeated twice to assess identification with China and Canada, respectively. Each item used a 7point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Reliabilities of these two scales were .84 (Chinese
identity) and .83 (Canadian identity).
Analytical Procedure
We used a multistep quantitative analytical procedure. Before focal data analyses, we examined
the observed correlations among the set of WeChat, YouTube, and Facebook social media indicators and
the five acculturation outcomes (i.e., sociocultural adaptation, psychological adaptation, Chinese identity,
Canadian identity, and English skills; see Table 2). Next, we used confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs)
and structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the multivariate relations between the social media
indicators and the acculturation outcomes. More specifically, we explored the construct validity and
discriminant validity of the outcomes used in this study to test whether the five-factor model (one factor
for each outcome) demonstrated optimal fit as compared with any plausible alternative model with fewer
factors. We also used CFA to conduct Harman’s single factor test in order to examine the role that common
method variance may have had in influencing shared variance in the outcomes (see Conway & Lance,
2010). Having identified the five-factor model for the outcomes as optimal, we next incorporated the 11
social media indicators as predictors of the five acculturation outcomes in a SEM. This allowed us to
examine the focal relations after adjusting for unreliability in the outcomes (as latent factors have perfect
reliability; Kline, 2016).
In all CFAs and SEMs, the Chinese and Canadian identity factors and the English skills factor
used the item-level data as indicators of each respective factor (i.e., the three Chinese identity items
were the indicators of the Chinese identity factor). For the sociocultural and psychological adaptation
factors, item parcels (which are variables comprising two or more items that are averaged together) were
used. Item parcels enable analyzing a more parsimonious model, which is advantageous with a moderate
sample size (Williams, Vandenberg, & Edwards, 2009), and have higher reliability (Little, Rhemtulla,
Gibson, & Schoemann, 2013). For sociocultural adaptation (nine items), three item parcels were formed
by randomly assigning three items to each parcel. For psychological adaptation (six items), we formed
three parcels by averaging two randomly chosen items.
Because the items for both the Chinese and Canadian identity factor were highly similar (i.e.,
they have parallel wording, as only the country referent was changed), we allowed correlated residual

4022 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

variances between respective items (see Morin, Arens, & Marsh, 2016). Finally, in the SEMs, we included
sex (0 = man, 1 = woman), age, number of years in Canada, and education level as control variables.2
For all CFA and SEM analyses, we used Mplus 8.5 and its robust maximum likelihood estimator (Muthén
& Muthén, 2019), which accounts for nonnormality.
Results
Table 2 presents the correlations and descriptive statistics for the focal measures of Study 2.

2

We also incorporated the average number of hours spent using social media as an additional control

variable. The results with this variable included were broadly similar to the results reported throughout the
article, except for the suppression of relations between the psychological adjustment outcome and the
WeChat—connect w/ Friends, and YouTube—seek Information social media indicators. Because of the
strong, overriding negative effect that social media use can have on well-being and given that it may be
obfuscating the more direct relations with social media within the acculturation process, we have chosen to
omit it from the results we have presented. Further details can be obtained from the first author.

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

The Medium Is the Message 4023

Table 2. Correlation Matrix of Study Variables.
Mean

SD

1. Gender

0.72

0.45

-

1

2

2. Age

37.78

10.30

−.08

3. Education

3.26

1.05

−.17 −.05

4. Years in Canada

6.19

2.61

5. WeChat-Info

4.95

6. WeChat-Learn

2.14

7. WeChat-Imm.

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

.54

-

18

19

-

.00

.00

−.13 -

1.67

.03

.11

−.12 −.05

1.52

−.11

.23

−.13 −.28

.26

6.43

1.08

.20

.11

.07 −.11

.30

.01

8. WeChat-Friends

6.78

0.77

.15

.01

.01 −.18

.21

.04

9. YT-Info

3.78

1.59

.04

.02

.02 −.07

−.09

.22 −.14

.09

10. YT-E.Show

4.29

1.83

.05 −.12

−.05

.08

−.01

.10 −.05

.05

.36

11. YT-C.Show

4.39

1.69

.16 −.11

.04

.17

.10

.09 −.03

.11

.30

.28

12. YT-Learn

3.48

1.79

−.04

.14

−.08 −.07

.05

.25

.08

.46

.40

.25

-

13. FB-Info

2.13

1.43

−.01 −.10

.08 −.09

−.10

−.07 −.11 −.08

.16

.02

−.09

−.07

14. FB-Connect

3.00

1.97

.12 −.20

.07

.06

−.16

−.08 −.09 −.06

.29

.13

.06

.03

.68

15. FB-Learn

1.80

1.29

−.05

.01

.00

.02

−.03

.20 −.21 −.08

.34

.19

.02

.25

.52

.60

16. Sociocultural Ad.

4.43

1.10

−.06 −.24

.26

.03

−.12

−.24 −.10 −.02

.06

−.05

.00

.05

.24

.22

.18

17. Psychological Ad.

5.30

1.05

−.01 −.07

.05 −.16

−.12

.01

.22

.22

.16

.17

18. Chinese ID

5.21

1.28

.10

.01

−.01

.13

19. Canadian ID

4.40

1.15

−.02

.04

−.07 −.15

20. English Skills

6.27

2.16

−.03 −.41

.33

.16

.38

.02

-

.00 −.05

.11

.27

.07

.22

.08

.26 −.01

.00

.05 −.09

−.17

.22

-

−.05

.13

−.05

.01

.00 −.04 −.02

.16

.22

.02

−.09

.19

.15

.14

.21

.45

−.09

.59 −.07

−.32 −.12 −.11

.00

.10

.01

−.03

.26

.34

.22

.64

.20 −.04

Note. n = 145. Info = consuming information about Canada; Learn = learning English; Imm= connecting with Chinese immigrants; Friends = connecting with
family and friends in China; E.Show = watching English shows; C.Show = watching Chinese shows; Connect = interacting with local Canadians; Chinese ID
= Chinese identity; Canadian ID = Canadian identity; Ad = adaptation.
p < .05 for correlations ≥| .17|, p < .01 for correlations ≥|. 22|.

.17

4024 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

Model fit indices from the CFAs are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Discriminant Validity Confirmatory Factor Analyses for the Acculturation Outcomes.
χ2

χ2c

df

#fp

CFI

RMSEA [90% CI]

Δχ2

Δχ2 df

Five-factor

181.34*

1.05

94

58

.95

Four-factor

508.94*

1.05

98

54

.78

.08 [.06, .10]

–

–

.17 [.15, .18]

329.75*

4

One-factor

1,148.94*

1.09

104

48

.43

.26 [.25, .27]

741.19*

10

424.10*

6

Note. χ2c = scaling correction factor for χ2; df = degrees of freedom; #fp = number of parameters; CFI =
comparative fit index; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation; 90% CI = 90% confidence interval for
RMSEA estimate; Δχ2 = Satorra-Bentler scaled χ2 difference statistic (Satorra & Bentler, 2001); Δχ2 df = degrees
of freedom for Δχ2. In the row for the four-factor model, the Δχ2 and Δχ2 df columns reflect the nested model
comparison against the five-factor model. For the one-factor model, the top Δχ2 and Δχ2 df values present the
comparison against the five-factor model and the comparison against the four-factor model (bottom).
* p < .01.
Using common guidelines for model fit indices, values for the comparative fit index (CFI) ≥ .90 and ≥ .95
and values for the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) ≤. 08 and ≤. 05 were taken as
indicative of adequate and strong fit, respectively (see L. T. Hu & Bentler, 1999; Kline, 2016). As such, the
hypothesized five-factor CFA model was deemed optimal and demonstrated reasonably strong fit, χ2(94) =
181.34, p < .01, CFI = .95, and RMSEA = .08 (90% CI [.06, .10]). Moreover, the five-factor model fit
significantly better (i.e., p < .001) than any alternative model with fewer factors (i.e., a four-factor model
that specified a single factor for all the sociocultural adaptation and English skills indicators, which were the
two most highly correlated variables; r = .62; see Table 2). Harman’s single factor test, χ2(104) = 1,148.94,
p < .01, CFI = .43, and RMSEA = .26 (90% CI [.25, .27]) suggested that common method variance was
marginal (i.e., less than 45% of the total variance). Though this does not rule out common method bias, it
does suggest that common method variance unlikely confounds results for our more focal analyses. Taken
together, these results support the construct validity of the sociocultural adaptation, psychological
adaptation, Chinese identification, Canadian identification, and English skills acculturation outcomes.
The next step in our analyses incorporated the five acculturation factors into a SEM and regressed
each factor on the 11 social media indicators (and the control variables). Fit of this model was also
reasonably strong, χ2(256) = 382.67, p < .01, CFI = .94, and RMSEA = .06 (90% CI [.05, .07]). Table 4
presents the full set of relations estimated by this model, but in the interest of brevity, we only highlight
relations for the social media indicators that were statistically significant.

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

The Medium Is the Message 4025

Table 4. Structural Equation Modeling Results.
Sociocultural Adaptation

Psychological Adaptation

Chinese ID

Canadian ID

English Skills

b

SE

B

b

SE

B

b

SE

B

b

SE

B

b

SE

B

Gender

−.03

.19

−.01

.01

.19

.00

.06

.24

.02

.00

.23

.00

−.02

.35

.00

Age

−.02**

.01

−.22

−.01

.01

−.09

−.01

.01

−.07

.00

.01

.04

−.07**

.01

−.34

Education

.21*

.09

.21

.04

.08

.04

.05

.08

.05

−.08

.10

−.07

.58**

.15

.29

Years

.01

.03

.02

−.02

.03

−.06

.11*

.04

.26

−.05

.05

−.10

.09

.06

.12

WeChat-Info

.01

.05

.01

−.04

.06

−.08

.02

.07

.03

.04

.07

.05

−.01

.09

−.01

WeChat-Learn

−.14*

.06

−.21

−.02

.06

−.03

.18*

.08

.25

−.06

.07

−.08

−.25*

.12

−.18

WeChat-Imm.

−.07

.09

−.07

−.05

.08

−.06

.18

.11

.18

−.17

.10

−.16

−.08

.14

−.04

WeChat-Friends

.06

.09

.04

.17*

.08

.14

.37*

.16

.26

.32**

.11

.22

−.13

.10

−.05

YouTube-Info

.02

.06

.03

.11*

.06

.18

−.01

.08

−.02

.13

.07

.18

−.10

.11

−.08

YouTube-E.Show

−.09

.06

−.15

−.04

.05

−.08

−.07

.06

−.12

−.05

.06

−.08

.05

.08

.04

YouTube-C.Show

−.02

.06

−.03

−.05

.05

−.09

.03

.07

.04

−.10

.07

−.14

−.06

.10

−.05

YouTube-Learn

.10

.05

.16

.12*

.05

.22

−.04

.07

−.06

.11

.07

.16

.10

.10

.09

FB-Info

.12

.09

.17

.19**

.07

.27

.10

.10

.13

.06

.09

.07

.05

.15

.04

FB-People

−.01

.06

−.02

−.04

.06

−.08

.00

.07

.00

.02

.08

.03

.16

.12

.16

FB-Learn

.10

.08

.13

−.01

.07

−.01

−.03

.10

−.04

.08

.09

.09

.23

.16

.14

R2

.24**

.19**

.21**

.20**

.43**

Note. b = unstandardized coefficient; SE = standard error; B = standardized coefficient. Info = consuming information about Canada; Learn = learning
English; Imm= connecting with Chinese immigrants; Friends = connecting with family and friends in China; E.Show = watching English shows; C.Show =
watching Chinese shows; Connect = interacting with local Canadians; Chinese ID = Chinese identity; Canadian ID = Canadian identity.
* p < .05. ** p < .01.

4026 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

For the sociocultural adaptation outcome, using WeChat for the purpose of learning English
contributed negatively, b = −.14, SE = .06, p < .05. Although none of the other social media indicators
demonstrated significant relations, with all 11 indicators included (and the control variables), 24% of the
variance was explained, R2 = .24, p < .01. For psychological adaptation, using WeChat to communicate with
family and friends added to the prediction, b = .17, SE = .08, p < .05. In addition, using YouTube to both
seek information about the host nation and learn English contributed significantly, b = .11, SE = .06, p
< .05, and b = .12, SE = .05, p < .05, respectively. Additionally, using Facebook to seek information related
positively to psychological adaptation, b = .19, SE = .07, p < .01. In total, 19% of psychological adaptation’s
variance was explained by the set of predictors, R2 = .19, p < .01.
In the prediction of Chinese identity, using WeChat to communicate with family and friends
contributed positively, b = .37, SE = .16, p < .05., although no other focal predictor contributed significantly,
R2 = .21, p < .01. Results were highly similar for the Canadian identification outcome: Using WeChat to
communicate with family and friends was positively related, b = .32, SE = .11, p < .01, and the overall
variance accounted for was R2 = .20, p < .01. Finally, with English skills as the outcome, using WeChat for
learning English contributed negatively, b = −.25, SE = .12, p < .05. Though this may seem counterintuitive,
it corresponds with our earlier theorizing, and we consider this negative relation more deeply in the
Discussion section. Although only one social media indicator demonstrated a significant relation, the set of
predictors, when taken together, accounted for 43% of the variance in English skills, R2 = .43, p < .01.
In sum, Study 2 revealed several noteworthy relations among the social media indicators identified
by the focus groups in Study 1. Furthermore, for each of the acculturation outcomes, at least one of the
social media variables contributed significantly to prediction. Although not every social media variable played
a substantial role, suggesting a degree of differential importance, significant proportions of variance for each
acculturation outcome were accounted for, underscoring the importance of social media use in predicting
and explaining acculturation of immigrants.
Discussion
This project examined Chinese immigrants’ use of social media and their acculturation in Canada
through a mixed-method project involving focus groups and a survey. The results of both studies—focusing
on social media use and acculturation outcomes, respectively—enrich the current literature, which is
predominantly based on student samples (e.g., Forbush & Foucault-Welles, 2016) and mainly examines the
general use of social media (e.g., Du & Lin, 2019). Our two-study design contributes unique answers to
questions that could not be addressed through a single-method study. Specifically, building on the results
of the focus groups, our survey targeted particular platforms and the specific uses of each platform to test
relations among social media use and acculturation outcomes.
Together, results of the two studies revealed immigrants’ preference for using WeChat, YouTube,
and Facebook and how these platforms are used for different communication activities. For instance, WeChat
was used for connecting with family and friends back home and connecting with Chinese immigrants in
Canada. WeChat was also used to obtain information about both countries. In addition, results showed that
different social media communication activities were differentially associated with acculturation outcomes.

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

The Medium Is the Message 4027

For example, using YouTube to obtain information about Canada was positively related to psychological
adaptation, but using WeChat for the same purpose was not related to any acculturation outcomes.
Together, our results emphasize the importance of differentiating specific uses of social media to better
understand its role in the acculturation process.
Our research also provides insights into the discrepancies in previous researchers’ findings. WeChat
is the major platform that Chinese immigrants used to connect with friends and family back home, and such
use was positively related to psychological adaptation, Chinese identity, and Canadian identity. Although it
is not surprising to see that this communication activity is positively related to ethnic identity (Hofhuis et
al., 2019), it is interesting to see that it also contributes to psychological adaptation and receiving-country
identity. Previous studies (e.g., Allison & Emmers-Sommer, 2011) found that ethnic communication on social
media distances immigrants from the host culture, but our results suggest otherwise. One possible
explanation is that when talking to family and friends back home, immigrants intentionally emphasize the
positive aspects of their immigration/acculturation experiences. Thus, it reinforces immigrants’ appreciation
of the receiving country, which in turn contributes to psychological adaptation and receiving-country
identity. Another important finding was that learning English on WeChat was negatively related to
sociocultural adaptation and English skills. It might be that, despite trying to acquire language skills on
WeChat, immigrants can only access lower-quality content, which adversely influences language skills and
gives false impressions of the receiving country.
YouTube is mainly used for mass communication, and two types of activities contribute to
psychological adaptation: using YouTube to learn English and to obtain information about Canada. These
results expand the current literature by examining the influences of mass social media communication,
given that previous studies predominantly focused on interpersonal communication (e.g., Hofhuis et al.,
2019). The results support the previous conclusions that social media usage is positively related to
psychological adaptation (Yu et al., 2019) and bolsters the need to distinguish specific social media
communication activities that may uniquely contribute to psychological adaptation. One surprising result
is that watching English-language shows on YouTube did not relate to any acculturation outcomes,
whereas past studies (e.g., Moon & Park, 2007) found that receiving country mass media communication
contributes to acculturation. One possible reason is that although the shows are in English, YouTube
content is less structured than traditional TV shows. Thus, this host mass communication activity may
not contribute to acculturation.
Facebook is used for both mass and interpersonal communication, and largely for host
communication. Looking for information about Canada on Facebook was positively related to psychological
adaptation, which supports previous findings on the positive role of Facebook (e.g., Park et al., 2014).
However, it was surprising that connecting with local Canadians on Facebook was not associated with any
acculturation outcomes; previous studies have suggested that host interpersonal communication on social
media contributes to key acculturation variables (e.g., Ju et al., 2016). Studies of international students
indicated that Facebook is mainly used to connect with friends made at school (e.g., Hofhuis et al., 2019).
Nonstudent immigrants may not have the opportunity to make friends on social media, and thus, host
interpersonal communication on Facebook was limited. This result highlights the importance of
differentiating the acculturation experiences of immigrants and international students.

4028 Ran Ju, Leah Hamilton, and Matthew McLarnon

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

Theoretical Implications
This project has several theoretical implications. It expanded the scope of the ITCCA by exploring
the ethnic, host, mass, and interpersonal communication across different social media platforms, and their
associated outcomes. While all types of communication happen on social media, they play different roles in
acculturation, resulting in a complex process. Our findings suggest that mass media communication on
different platforms had different influences on acculturation, and thus we update the literature on mass
media and acculturation in the social media context. Host mass communication activities on YouTube were
positively related to psychological adaptation. However, same activities on WeChat had no or a negative
relation to acculturation outcomes. Such results also emphasize the importance of recognizing the intricate
nature of communication on social media because the same activity on different platforms demonstrated
differential relations with acculturation outcomes. Based on these findings, we advocate for ongoing research
to incorporate a more nuanced approach when studying social media and acculturation, and we argue that
the ITCCA could be further broadened in the context of social media by differentiating specific
communication activities on different platforms.
This project also produced findings that did not align with the ITCCA or previous studies (e.g., S.
Hu et al., 2020). The ITCCA suggests that ethnic communication distances immigrants from the host culture,
creates alienation from and negative perceptions of the receiving country, and discourages motivation to
acculturate (e.g., Croucher & Rahmani, 2015). However, ethnic interpersonal social media communication
(connecting with friends and family back home on WeChat) contributed to psychological adaptation and
receiving country identity. This might be due to the glorifying function of social media, which suggests that
people tend to make themselves look better on social media. This interesting finding indicates that social
media may bring new dynamics to the types of communication suggested by the ITCCA during the
acculturation process.
Practical Implications
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced settlement agencies to quickly pivot their programs online
(Esses et al., 2021). In this context, findings from this project can inform future settlement programming.
Because using WeChat to learn English was negatively associated with English skills, immigrant-serving
agencies can encourage newcomers to avoid this platform for language acquisition. Moreover, given that
newcomers turn to social media to acquire receiving-country language skills, agencies can leverage this
trend to create their own virtual language platforms or virtual language channels on YouTube.
Results from the current study suggest that finding resettlement information using social media
platforms is positively associated with psychological adaptation. This builds on previous studies
demonstrating that newcomers rely heavily on social media for resettlement information (Ahmed, Veronis,
& Alghazali, 2020). Prearrival information programs and postarrival resettlement programs are
encouraged to harness the power of social media for providing newcomers with valuable information. It
is important to ensure that such information is accurate and helps to foster realistic expectations about
life in the receiving country.

International Journal of Communication 15(2021)

The Medium Is the Message 4029

Limitations and Future Research Directions
Although we believe that our results will generalize to other newcomer groups, our sample only
comprised Chinese adults living in Canada for less than 10 years. It will be important to replicate this
research with different groups of newcomers living in different countries. Additionally, because acculturation
is a dynamic phenomenon, intensive longitudinal designs (Bolger & Laurenceau, 2013) will be needed to
examine changes over time. The current research controlled for key demographic variables but did not
include any other individual difference variables. Future researchers are encouraged to include measures of
immigrants’ acculturation attitudes (Esses, Hamilton, & Gaucher, 2019), which are known to be important
predictors of acculturation outcomes. Importantly, the cross-sectional nature of the current studies does
not facilitate causal inferences. Thus, research that uses experimental designs may be needed.
Conclusion
Our study emphasizes the importance of differentiating specific uses of social media to better
understand its role in the acculturation process, recognizing that the same communication activity on
different platforms impacted acculturation outcomes differently. Thus, the medium is, at least in part, the
message. Social media has become ubiquitous in newcomers’ resettlement experiences (Veronis et al.,
2018). This is particularly the case now that policy decisions and the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed
immigrant-serving agencies to create virtual programs (Helps et al., 2020). By shedding light on how
Chinese immigrants use ethnic, host, mass, and interpersonal communication across different platforms
throughout the acculturation process, findings from the current study expand the scope of the ITCCA and
offer important practical implications for service providers.

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