Since the late 2000s there has been a dramatic restructuring of relationship between user and information through the widespread use of Smart Devices. At the same time as its proliferation, the worldwide networking of Social Media due to its portability and operability has seen it become a global communication tool through the Internet. Although Social Media is seen to be global in size, in distribution however, it is wholly uneven. There exists a non-permeable intercultural barrier between countries due to user inclinations swaying usage of the services native to the users' countries. To take a forward step in solving this issue, this dissertation defines the functions which influence the cultural differences in social media. This provides quantitative proof to determine those culturaldifferences.
A comparative analysis framework was constructed based on the Five Factor Cultural Model, proposed by Geert Hofstede, and two investigations were done. The first involved comparative analysis on the commonality of user interfaces worldwide, and found that the elements on the user interface that most influenced the individualism and time orientation of users were: concept color, background color, corner of table and presentation. The second involved a comparative study of user interfaces in social media between the United States and Japan, and found that users were mainly influenced in the following areas: functions of user interfaces, senses of values, mind gaps of what users have and services predict, the effects of intercultural experience, and contradictions of predictions.
As a result of these two investigations, quantitative proof was found to determine and define those cultural differences that makeup the cultural barrier and their qualitative influence on the issues at hand.
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