Odoo

A key aspect of this research was to examine the role that Facebook plays in the social interactions and relationships of international students. From the analysis of the results it is clear that Facebook was widely used by the research participant group. The social network analysis diagrams that are located in Appendix 2 use colour shading to indicate the frequency of Facebook usage over the 15 month time period of the research. These diagrams confirm the general wide usage of Facebook amongst the participant group. In addition, the numerous diagrams contained within the survey analysis of Section 4.2 strongly indicated a generally high level of usage. The reasons for using Facebook are also not unexpected with Figure 4.12 identifying the social motivation for initially starting to use Facebook. The ‘Other’ category identified in this graph included other specifically social activities such as: communication with other students; keeping in contact with others; and because others were using it. Facebook use did have a social driver but as Figure 4.5 and Figure 4.18 show it is not the only mode by which interaction occurs. Figure 4.5 specifically identified other technology based modes of interaction that were used by the research participants with MSN and Skype only slightly less popular than Facebook. With the 52 international students that formed the FSP course group, there is definite overlap between Facebook users and MSN/Skype users. This, along with the communication mode preferences identified in Figure 4.18, clearly indicates that the participants overall used more than just Facebook as part of their social interactions with others.

The international student participants used a range of different technology based modes of interaction of which Facebook was just one such method, as indicated in Figure 4.18. While face-to-face interactions between the research participants were strongly preferred, one interpretation of the research is that technology based modes, such as Facebook, MSN and Skype, are used to bridge barriers to face-to-face interaction. The preference for face-to-face interactions is discussed in more detail in Section 5.8. The reasons for having a suite of modes are likely due to the participants having different requirements in their interactions. The Chinese students’ use of Renren, QQ and Skype would likely be used for interactions with family and friends back in China while interactions with other non-Chinese students would have to be via

Page | 139 a different mode such as Facebook. The high usage of Skype likely allows more intimate one-to-one interactions with friends and family. These outcomes also strongly indicate that despite the wide usage and popularity of Facebook, it is still not able to meet the entire social and interaction needs of its users.

Facebook’s advantage is its convenience as a mode by which users can interact and keep updated with each other. Convenience as a key factor in the interactions of the research participants is discussed above in Section 5.10. For the international students studying in the FSP course, Facebook was a convenient mode of interaction as it was widely used and easily accessible via the participants’ own computers and mobile devices as indicated in Figure 4.33. The outcomes from the interview analysis in Section 4.4.1 identified convenience as a key factor in the interactions of the research participants and Facebook fits this category as it is a technological based mode that is widely used, accessible and efficient in terms of cost and time factors. This makes Facebook an attractive system for international students to use to socially interact with each other in an active or passive way.

The research participant group was composed of students of a range of different ages however a majority were in the teenage to early 20’s age range as shown in Figure 4.1. This demographic is attracted to the use of technologies such as Facebook as it allows them to express themselves to others in their social group (Thelwall, 2008; boyd, 2007). The social interaction opportunities and social drivers make Facebook an attractive program for use as it allows young adults to interact more often and in a more convenient mode (Thelwall & Wilkinson, 2010). Research by Grasmuck, Martin & Zhao (2009) and Selwyn (2008) have found that the online and offline interactions between DSN users tend to mirror each other therefore seeing social influences in the adoption and usage of Facebook is not a surprising outcome. This is especially true for the research participant group as they were located in a social environment that did influence their choice to use Facebook.

Social technologies such as Facebook have been identified as a convenient mode by which users can maintain their social relationships and interact with others (boyd & Ellison, 2008; Nyland & Near, 2007). This has an added importance for international students as the research outcomes have identified that social technologies allow them to interact and feel closer to family & friends in their home countries and provides them with social support while geographically isolated (Msengi et al, 2011; Lee, Park & Kim, 2009). While Facebook itself can fit this role it has limitations in its usability and nature of interaction. Facebook, while widely used world-wide, is not universally available or as popular as other modes in countries such as China and Japan. As the use of digital social network is based on real world relationships (Sender & Oishi, 2009;

Page | 140 boyd, 2009) it would be safe to conclude that other social technologies would be needed in order to interact with all members of an international students social group. For the international students of the FSP course, Facebook is used as a convenient mode by which social interactions can occur with each other. As it does not fulfil all of their social interaction needs it is supplemented by other technologies for interactions with their broader social group.