Effects of Social Media Usage on Sojourners’ Sense of Belonging in Cross-Cultural Environments: The Combination of Environmental and Personal Factors

The development of international sojourners’ sense of belonging in a cross-cultural environment has been research focus for long. However, with the development of information technology, how social media usage (SMU), as an indispensable tool in people’s lives, affects the enhancement of individuals’ sense of belonging, especially for international sojourners, has not received sufficient attention. This study aims to explore how different dimensions of SMU affects sense of belonging by taking the sample of international students in two separate studies, and unveil the underlying mechanism (fit to the university as a mediating variable) and boundary condition (personality of extroversion as a moderating variable). Data from two studies found that SMU (information and socializing) positively influenced sense of belonging and fit to the university mediated the positive relationship between SMU (information and socializing) and sense of belonging. In addition, personality of extroversion not only negatively mediated the positive relationship between SMU (information and socializing) and fit to the university, but also indirectly moderated the positive relationships between SMU (information and socializing) and sense of belonging.