OLLIE ALEXANDRA O.

LANZA
KAYLA MARIE VELASCO STM21

Instructions: Based on your analysis and you may also feature other articles
that may support this study to justify your discussions.
Background of the Study

I. Facebook has become a worldwide phenomenon and is currently the most

popular social networking service (SNS) among worldwide active users. Being so
widely used, its potential for educational context is promising and many educators
have begun to explore how Facebook can serve educational purposes. Since
Facebook members can become friends and join groups with people in other
countries, Facebook provides a medium through which communication and
language learning can take place between people across borders.

In addition, educators are particularly enthusiastic about the ability in Facebook to

create a "closed" Facebook group in which membership and content can be
controlled by the group administrators; however, little has been written about how
to best organize such groups for intercultural exchanges. This paper will describe
and evaluate an online intercultural exchange among university students through
Facebook.

A. What is the current state of the field?

Over these past decades, Facebook has become the most popular social network on
the planet. With over two billion users, this platform has successfully connected
people through live spectacles, chatbots, and meetings in virtual reality. According
to Duran (2017), the revenue in the second quarter of 2017 rose to $9.32 billion, a
45 percent increase over the same quarter in 2016. Facebook’s earnings exceeded
predictions by Yahoo Finance ($9.2 billion). Facebook’s global ad revenue is
expected to total $36.29 billion this year—up 35 percent from 2016—according to
eMarketer, making Facebook the largest ad seller after Google. This app has
become the most versatile app for any age as it is continuously changing the way
hundreds of millions of people relate to one another and share information. This
app promotes different content that suits different aspects such as, beauty
industry, online gaming, eCommerce, etc. The current state of the field is all about
how Facebook impacts educational connectivity among educators and learners. It
states that Facebook has the ability to create a strong and closed connection among
members and its administrators where studies are previously made regarding this,
however, online intercultural exchange among university students lacks information
and requires further investigation with the application of the Facebook app.

B. What are the current and conventional practices in the field of study?

According to Sawyer (2011), Intercultural adaptation involves the process of

promoting understanding through interaction to increase the level of fitness so that
the demands of a new cultural environment can be met. Research shows that
people tend to use new social media to become more integrated into the host
culture during their adaptation and to maintain connections to their home countries.
OLLIE ALEXANDRA O. LANZA
KAYLA MARIE VELASCO STM21

The current and conventional practices made in this field of study is by evaluating
students regarding an online intercultural exchange through a mixed method of
online surveys targeting a variety of races among students. This survey is divided
into six sections: Facebook users; reasons why people use Facebook; harmful
effects of Facebook; Facebook as an educational environment; benefits of the
environment of Facebook culture, language, and education; and the relationship
between Facebook and subject variables. It aims to investigate how Facebook
connects the diverse student with intercultural exchanges.

C. Indicate the gap of the current study.

Despite being the leading social network on the planet, Facebook still encounters
some gaps and issues with its features and services. Facebook has been adopted in
many countries with over 80% of its user-base worldwide (Peters 2015). Yet,
despite this global dominance, not much is understood of Facebook usage by
individuals in nonwestern cultures. Facebook usage does influence and is influenced
by cultural practices, but social media can be designed to influence and extend
positive societal values like staying connected with family and friends, encouraging
the intercultural learning and tolerance which results from having diverse friends.

D. What is the present study's contribution to addressing the research gap.

The present study’s contribution to addressing the research gap made a more
specific investigation on how cultural and attitudinal factors affects diverse students
among learning and socializing with each other. It will greatly contribute to
everyone’s perspective on specific cultural practices and norms held by different
ethnic populations. It explained the relationship of different ethnic groups and
cultures around the world will uncover interesting and important cultural influences
on use and behavior on Facebook.

REFERENCES:

Sawyer. (2011). The Impact of New Social Media on Intercultural Adaptation.

Available from:
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=srhonor
sprog

Peter. (2015). Cultural influences on Facebook practices: A comparative study of

college students in Namibia and the United States. Available from:
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=scm_pubs

Duran. (2017). The Current State Of Facebook. Available from:

https://www.alistdaily.com/social/current-state-facebook/
OLLIE ALEXANDRA O. LANZA
KAYLA MARIE VELASCO STM21