HCC: Small: From Local Ties to Transnational Connections: The Role of Computer-mediated Communication in Relational Maintenance

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The United States is a multi-cultural society, where uses of communication technology have become ubiquitous and routine. Although there has been a substantial amount of research on computer-mediated communication, very little has been said on the issue of cultural differences in assessing the uses and interpretations of current technologies. The very ubiquity of social computing applications makes the study of cultural differences in their use for relational maintenance difficult. Focusing on environments where social relationships are paramount for survival and where computer-mediated communication applications are relatively limited in number can help us examine how cultural preferences, social needs and constraints of available infrastructure shape the use of computer-mediated communication for relational maintenance. The goal of this research is to make empirical and theoretical contributions to ongoing research on cultural differences in the use of computer-mediated communication through the investigations of the role of social media in transnational contexts. This research will also contribute to the development of theory of the basic processes underlying social relationships through empirical investigations of non-western relational maintenance practices.The results of this research will address how cultural differences can shape future development and design of human-centered computing applications and will enhance ongoing efforts to promote design and deployment of computer-mediated communication technologies in digitally nascent societies. By turning attention to the cultural contexts of technology use for relational maintenance, we also seek to engage with people whose perspectives are often unheard, including transnational migrants. Contextual study of Internet and social network site use is especially valuable in a culture that differs from the predominantly Western perspective that developed or provided templates for the development of the majority of current social computing applications.