Cultural Difference Between European and Chinese Females on Facebook - Compare and Contrast Essay

This proposal seeks to examine whether there is a cultural difference between European and Chinese females, when comparing their image with others on Facebook and how this affects their self-esteem. The research questions are: 1) Is there a cultural difference between European females and Chinese females, in terms of how using Facebook to compare their image with others affects their self-esteem?; and 2) Will using Facebook for social comparison purposes have less impact on European or Chinese females?

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An online questionnaire will help in examining students social comparison orientation; their attitude towards social comparison on Facebook; and how such affect their self-esteem. Pearsons Correlation Coefficient will measure the correlation between the variables: 1) Social Comparison Orientation and self-esteem; 2) Social Comparison Orientation and Facebook use; and 3) Social Comparison Orientation and Facebook comparison.

Introduction

Social media play a key role in the determination of the perceived differences between the cultures as they manifest in the observed responses to the impact of postings of social media. Although individuals may conceive the social media and Facebook posts similarly, there are certain discrete differences between individuals from different cultural backgrounds. For instance, there has been a discrete cultural difference between the Chinese and the Japanese cultures as far as the social interactions are concerned. The findings of this study produce a justification on the manner in which Social Comparison Orientation influences females using Facebook based on different cultural backgrounds as well as the impacts these aspects have on their own self-esteem. In particular, this study examines the females drawn from the Chinese cultural background and their counterparts from the European region whose cultural provision experience sharp differences.

In particular, female students from China and Europe use Facebook at different levels and purposes though the ultimate purpose for both groups is to reap the maximum social interaction benefits. However, the ultimate goal of using Facebook by the two groups is mainly for social interactions although it eventually forms the basis for comparison between the two. In this regard, when the two groups upload their images on the social network, such images are subjected to varying levels of critics that also form the basis of establishing certain levels of convictions about their abilities and public image. This may constitute the source of low or high self-esteem on the different individuals sharing divergent cultural backgrounds. Females that compare themselves with others may experience low levels of self-esteem (Durkee & Brunner, et al. 2012). Besides, there have been established relationships between social comparison orientations and the use of Facebook as a social network on female students. Using the Facebook platform, females who compare themselves with others on Facebook experience low levels of self-esteem based on their divergent cultural backgrounds.

The growing interest that people have on matters online has led to the interest to acquire knowledge into the issue of cyberpsychology. Cyberpsychology, behaviour and social networking have led into the analysis of the growing interest into the matters that relate to the social and psychological impact of the social networking practices and the impact of the same in the lives of the society (Neill et al., 2013). In order understand the concept in a deeper manner, there is need to follow the growing trends of the internet usage and the changes that have taken place in the social networking and the virtual reality for the past 15 years. The internet has led to the development of rapid communication and the increased interaction between people of different, social, cultural and geographical locations. The interactive technologies have also led to the development of the behaviour of the society have introduced both the negative and positive changes in the modern society. Cyberpsychology is a broad field that encompasses different areas of communication and social skills and helps in improving communication in the society.

Cyberpsychology has led to the changes in the various cultures and this has led to increase in the use of social media in both the countries in the Middle East and countries in Europe. In this manner, Cyberspychology that is widespread in the society has helped the society to create unity in the use of social media in the society where from the West or from the East. Although, the use of social media in the East is not the same as the use of social media in the West, the is a growing increase in the use of the platforms and this has increased the spread of in formation in the globe and helped in making the world a global village (Fotis et al., 2011). There is widespread use of the social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube among others that have led to the expansion of the communication platforms and sharing of ideas among people of different cultures and beliefs.

The development of the virtual communities in the modern society is also due to the development of cyberpsychology and this is due to the expansion of the platforms for blogging and to enable the society to engage in the knowledge acquisition in the society. There are various advantages of the development of blogging skills and the enhancement of the virtual communities in the society (Hudson & Thal, 2013). Additionally, the growing interest of the society to participate in computer games and gaming has led to the growing interest in the technological world that call for the society to acquire the relevant skills that can help in the development of the relevant technological skills and enhancement of innovation skills. Although there are various advantages of cyberpsychology in the modern society, there is need for the society to ensure that there are challenges such as addiction that interferes with the normal working of the human body (Bertot et al., 2012). This is because internet and participation in the communication can lead to too much attachment in matters of internet and this affects the normal working of individuals in the society. In this light, experts need to encourage the society to have control about their internet usage and participation in the matters online.

The society is more attached to the technological development and wants to get acquitted with the trending and latest development in the technological world. In this manner, there is increasing numbers in the people that use the internet and this call for the study of the operation of control and communication. In a nutshell, technology has gained much control of the human mind and this is evident in the way the society struggles to conform to trending issues online. There is need to engage in the analysis of the communication between the human interaction and communication between the man and machine. There should be balance between the use of the human mind and the use of machines. Studies suggest that if the trend continues, there would be poor development of the human mind and that much attention would be given to the technological development and making the human mind irrelevant in the society. In this manner, the machines would replace human beings in the society and make the human mind irrelevant to the developing matters in the modern society.

This study seeks to examine the impact of Facebook in the society and help in the effects that it has on the self-esteem of the users and especially on the female gender. In this manner, this proposal seeks to carry out analysis of the lifestyles of various people that use Facebook and the social media regularly, regularly in this case is daily. The research also plans to analyse the effects of the social media among people of different cultures and how the same has led to the creation of differences between people of different cultures. The analysis of cultural differences would help in the examination of the impact of social media and specifically Facebook and would lead the project to analyse the ways that researchers can improve the use of social media to help in enhancing cohesion and unity in the society. Finally, the paper seeks to find ways of improving the ethics in social media and help in promoting the virtues in the society.

Culture and Sources of Self-esteem

To examine social comparison functions in diverse cultural context, it is very essential to comprehend the manner in which culture may create some consequences in the social world of the involved individuals and the self in particular that this study seeks to evaluate. For instance, the European culture has some distinct differences to the Chinese Culture although it may comprise of some shared assertions. Research within the field of cultural psychology is mainly driven by the believe that both psyche and culture complements each other while individuals actions may have certain discrepancies with regard to particular assumptions that it holds in a cultural context. Indeed, culture may be expressed as a set of organized system of practices and beliefs or the artificial component of the social world. Culture in which an individual grows in may define their social orientations to matters of self and others. For instance, the Chinese culture may define their perceptions towards different food items that may be outside their local offers and the same is true to their European Counterparts (Bamford & Halliwell, 2009). The mind is also considered at the same time as the creator or a product of culture. Hence, an individual may not exclusively understand the psychological self-devoid of understanding the ultimate culture of their own existence.

One of the fundamental perspectives of cultural psychology is the manner in which individuals construe selves that differs sharply across different cultures. This implies that the self-construal may vary from a loosely dependent to an independent nature. The independent perspective is often perceived as unique, bounded and even separate from others as well as their surroundings. As participants in individual cultures on independent selves tend to exercise value on personal agencies and personal freedoms and choices, this defines their social positions. On the other hand, independence means that actions arises from personal traits and are products of being unique from others (Li & Kirkup, 2007). Individuals that are more independent also tend to believe that they control their personal outcomes which leverage their circumstances.

Interdependent self however emphasizes on individual inherent connectivity with one another as well as the established harmony in their social relationships. The agencies involved in these cultures are however defined critically as a perspective of being and conducting self in a global context that is basically tied up to other individuals while the social obligations are highly valued. This apparent difference in construing self may form an important framework in finding the essence of cultural differences in sources of self-esteem (Hildebrandt & Greif, et al. 2008). As a result of these divergent perceptions of individuals, culture may also influence the manner in which individuals not only evaluate but also maintain the self. Culture dictates the manner in which female students in both China and Europe perceive themselves as far as their distinct images are concerned, an aspect that may derail their respective self-esteem within their own cultural backyards (Durkee & Brunner, et al. 2012).

Majority of the con...