Band 4, Heft 2 - Special Issue: Transcultural Values and Digital Communication Platforms

Digital communication platforms dominate the contemporary communication landscape. The majority, though not exclusively, originate in the United States of America, developed and operated by a limited number of dominant corporations representative of the globalized cultural industry. This paper employs intercultural and transcultural theoretical frameworks to analyze the cultural nature of these platforms. Subsequently, we aim to determine the extent to which these dominant platforms facilitate transcultural exchange, and assess the efficacy of regulation in guiding platform-based communication. Our conclusion posits that current platform practices are fostering a discernible “techlash” directed towards cultural containers of communication.

This study investigates the influence of social media on female representation and body image perceptions among young female students in Southwest Nigeria, examining the interplay between global media dynamics and local cultural contexts. Through a de-westernizing lens, the research explores the prevalence of social media usage, perceptions of female representation, and the impact on body image. Findings reveal a pervasive engagement with social media among Nigerian females, while resisting Western beauty ideals and demonstrating satisfaction with body size and skin tone. Drawing from cultural imperialism theory and social comparison theory, the study exposes the complex relationship between social media, cultural influences, and individual agency in shaping female identity. Data was collected through a questionnaire administered to a sample of 400 female students from two universities in Southwest Nigeria: The University of Ibadan and Lead City University. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed, starting with the purposive selection of 24,000 female students. Yamane’s sample size formula was then applied to determine a reliable and representative sample size of 400 participants. The analysis utilized various statistical tools, including descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and mean distributions, along with inferential statistics like Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), logistic regression, and linear regression models. The data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. However, despite the existence of online social comparisons among young Nigerian female students, the desire to conform to the idealized body image portrayed by social media or adopt the slim body type of a traditional Western woman is not prevalent among most of the respondents. This finding suggests that young Nigerian female students exhibit a strong sense of body confidence contributing to improved mental wellbeing and fostering a more diverse societal perception of beauty.

In the context of the post-truth era, characterized by the diverse manifestations of misinformation across varying cultural backgrounds, older adults, often considered more susceptible to misinformation, require focused research to understand their perceptions regarding its spread. Therefore, this study investigated the third-person perception of misinformation sharing behavior among Chinese older adults ( N  = 317), a group that requires greater research attention. Results confirmed the existence of third-person perception in misinformation sharing on WeChat. Furthermore, results indicate that this perception is stronger among individuals with better fact-checking habits, higher misinformation verification abilities, and lower trust in information. Analyzing these findings within the Chinese cultural context, the study bridges the classic third-person effect hypothesis and cultural specificity, offering empirical insights into an underexplored demographic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many organizations to implement changes to manage operational and economic challenges. These changes indicate attempts by organizational communication to reduce uncertainty and jointly transcend hardships among different cohorts in the workplace. In response to worker vulnerability during the pandemic, U.S. firms have increased efforts to expand paid family leave (PFL) policies, leading to some employees’ approval and others’ disapproval. This paper explores how PFL policies implemented by private U.S. employers during the pandemic altered workplace morale, teamwork, and productivity. I find that policy expansion corresponds with a significant polarization of workplace morale, employing a difference-in-differences t -test on twenty-six Glassdoor company review sites over fifteen months of the pandemic. Notably, I discover that employees tend to attribute PFL-related utility to coworkers and PFL-related disutility to management. These observations suggest that PFL policies hold remarkable value for both employers and employees. This study demonstrates how to leverage company reviews on large digital platforms to empirically examine workplace dynamics and the ways in which employees view and interact with each other.

In recent years, as more Chinese dramas have been streamed on international platforms and Chinese company-owned platforms, Chinese TV dramas have become increasingly popular in the global market. The discussion under the hashtag “#C-drama” has experienced a resurgence on social media. Among all Chinese TV dramas consumed by global audiences, the Xianxia drama, with its strong and unique Chinese cultural elements, combining Chinese mythology and culture with fantasy and action, is one of the most popular genres. In the context of global media flows long dominated by cultural imperialism and Orientalist representations, the rise of Xianxia drama exports marks a culturally significant case of contra-flow, influenced by intertwined global political, economic, and cultural conditions. To examine the transculturality of Xianxia dramas, this paper conducted an online ethnography to explore how Chinese Xianxia dramas attract global audiences with different cultural backgrounds, through the lens of media content likeability, audience agency, and audience reception. The principal data sources of this study are online posts and comments on Reddit – r/CDrama, which reflect the global audience’s perspective in the process of consuming and interpreting Chinese Xianxia dramas. The findings of this study demonstrate that cultural magnetism, audience agency, and cultural projection facilitate the process of transcultural communication of Xianxia dramas, sharing insights into this transcultural entertainment content dissemination in the age of media globalization. Such insights contribute to understanding the dynamics of transnational cultural flows occurring in contemporary Asia.