In search of community: college students’ social networking sites use in Hong Kong

Abstract

Much has been written about how Social Networking Sites have provided new avenues for self-expression, connectivity, and “self-creation” among young people, but few studies pay due attention to how the organization of offline life or offline network structures influences online activities. To fill this gap, this paper examines two different SNSs in the Chinese context: Renren, the most popular SNS among students from mainland China, and Facebook, the most popular SNS among students internationally and in Hong Kong. Based on in-depth interviews of 40 college students in Hong Kong, I found that local Hong Kong students use SNSs differently from students who are from mainland China but studying in universities in Hong Kong. First, mainland students in Hong Kong use both Renren and Facebook but are much more frequently and intensely engaged with Renren. In contrast, local Hong Kong students rarely use Chinese SNSs even though there are no technical barriers preventing them from doing so. Second, depending on where they are from, students post on Renren and Facebook using very different styles. Local Hong Kong students individualize themselves on Facebook, while mainland students focus on experiences shared among members of the Renren community. Third, practical information-seeking happens frequently on renren but rarely on Facebook. Because local Hong Kong students tend not to build homogenous and close-knit offline peer networks, they mainly use SNSs for self-presentation and entertainment instead of for seeking supports or practical information. Mainland students in Hong Kong, however, form a homogenous peer network with a strong sense of belonging. I conclude that this heterogeneity of online behavior is rooted in participants’ offline networks. Although all students present themselves through SNSs while creating seemingly similar ties online, those ties are imbued with disparate meanings because participants are positioned differently offline.