The Impact of social media on intercultural communication
ENAlong with the growth of migration, global online shopping, distant learning and other social processes, social media have been gaining increasing popularity. While this is a very attractive and useful process, it also creates problem areas in intercultural communication and adaptation processes. The importance of intercultural communication via social media becomes especially relevant in the analysis of migration and adaptation in foreign cultures. The main research question was that of the use of social media for intercultural communication, it also looked into the problems that emerge in the process of adaptation in a specific cultural group and the ways these issues are addressed, etc. Therefore, the aim of this article is to define the situation of social media in intercultural communication, highlighting the purposes and functions of social networking sites and revealing the importance of social media in the process of adaptation in a multicultural environment. The analysis of the functions provided by social media revealed that they are generally used in order to establish new contacts, form an opinion about the new cultural environment, keep in touch with family and friends who live in the home country, and maintain national identity. The informants stated that social media simplify the process of communication and facilitate faster adaptation in the new culture.
