Abstract

Guided by uses and gratifications theory and prior research on cross-cultural adaptation (CCA), this paper examines the impact of ethnic Internet use on CCA. Based on surveys from 268 Chinese students in the U.S., our results show that Chinese students use the Internet primarily for information, entertainment and ethnic maintenance reasons. Entertainment and social involvement motives positively predict ethnic Internet use whereas assimilation attitude and length of stay are negative predictors of ethnic Internet use. More importantly, we found that heavy ethnic Internet users tend to show higher life satisfaction and less depression than do their counterparts. Implications of significant findings for CCA research are discussed.

Key words: Ethnic Internet use, cross-cultural adaptation, uses and gratifications, Chinese students.