Abstract
With advancements in information technology, social media has infiltrated into every domain of people’s daily lives. However, as an important component of contemporary college students’ information literacy skills, how social media usage influences the process of international students’ acculturation deserves more scholarly attention. Based on a survey of 2058 samples from 135 countries, the current study ranks among the first trials to reveal the dark side of social media usage during students’ acculturative process. The empirical research provides in-depth insight into the under-investigated mechanism whereby the two split dimensions of social media usage disrupt the process of international students’ cultural identity development from perceived university support, and thereby influence their final cross-cultural adjustment. Results from regression analysis indicate that social media usage, whether for information or socialising purposes, negatively moderates the relationships between perceived university support and three dimensions of cultural identity. Further, three dimensions of cultural identity contribute to academic and social cross-cultural adjustment, and play mediating roles between perceived university support and cross-cultural adjustment. Theoretical and practical implications as well as future research avenues are also discussed.