Page 78 - Never Too Far Away? The Roles of Social Network Sites in Sojourners’ Adjustment

Concurrent communication and homesickness
Facebook interactions and homesickness. We found that Facebook
interaction with the host-country network lowered homesickness, both in the short- and in the long-term. Facebook is an inexpensive and convenient way to interact with the host-country network. For instance, international students could interact with significant others from the host-country without having to formally arrange meet-ups or having to spend money on social activities. These Facebook interactions with the host-country network proved to be helpful for international students in dealing with homesickness.
In our current study, we asked about the frequency of interactions on Facebook specifically with significant others from the host-country. Previous studies have shown that in the general population, active, targeted, and composed communication on Facebook with significant others (i.e., strong ties) promote overall wellbeing (Burke & Kraut, 2016; Verduyn et al., 2017). This might partly explain our finding on the positive effect of Facebook interaction with the host- country network on homesickness. We can surmise that the active Facebook use among international students with co-located (i.e., host country) significant others is comparable to the positive effects of active Facebook use with significant others in the general population.
We also found that higher levels of homesickness predicted greater Facebook interaction with the host-country network in the short-term. In other words, when international students feel homesick, they go on Facebook and interact with host-country network to seek reprieve. Thus, Facebook interaction with the host-country network and homesickness reinforce each other. It appears that international students’ use of Facebook to interact with significant others in the host country had short- and long-term alleviating effects on homesickness. Reciprocally, whenever international students experience bouts of homesickness, they turn to Facebook and interact with host-country significant others.
At first glance, the reciprocal effects of Facebook interaction with the host- country network lowering homesickness (both in the long- and the short-term), and homesickness increasing Facebook interaction with the host-country network (in the short-term) may suggest an optimistic view on international students’ Facebook use with the host-country network. Indeed, it appears that Facebook use with the host country network is helpful in alleviating homesickness. However, the reciprocal effects may also suggest a positive feedback loop, or reciprocal associations that could potentially lead to extreme levels if left unchecked (Slater,
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