Information Sources and social media

information needs were related to the daily context in the international students' Pre-arrival and Settlement stages compared to academic and campus life. In addition to having people based in the U.S. and the internet as their primary sources of information. At the Pre-arrival stage, the information needs of the international students were broader, and the level of satisfaction with internet search low. Oppositely, once they settled down in the U.S., their information needs were more precise, and they felt more confident with search experiences. Besides that, the internet and people continue to be the main sources of information for these students, although

[...] their information needs, and sources of information became diverse; the increased use of social media, was especially noticeable [...] Participants used a variety of social networking services, such as Craigslist, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Also, it was observed that international students were getting familiar with available information sources. (YOON; CHUNG, 2017, p. 8-11).

In the same study, Yoon and Chung (2017, p. 9) present the type of international students’ information needs on the three stages of mobility: Pre-arrival, Settlement stage, and Current stage.

At all three stages, information needs related to their daily lives were dominant. At the pre-arrival stage (before entering the U.S.), information needs were broad; at the settlement stage, time-sensitive and critical settlement-related information needs were dominant; and at the current stage, more diverse information needs were reported, and information needs became specific.

Information sharing in academic and everyday life contexts is influenced by individual, cultural, community, and societal contexts and various social, emotional, and cultural support factors and social and community ties, including altruism, communality and social interaction, difficulties in communicating or translating, empathy, enjoyment, perceptions of cultural or information values, reciprocity, reputation or status, self-efficacy, social cognition, social isolation, and social or cultural norms (WORRALL;

BALLANTYNE; KENDALL, 2019, p. 307)

As a result of a systematic literature review (SLR) aiming to examine “information-seeking trends among international students while using social media.” (HAMID et al., 2016, p. 643); one of the research questions of the SLR was to identify the information needs related to international students, which requires solutions through information seeking. After analyzing the 71 articles selected, here they are:

Academic related - Academic adjustment, academic performance, international service programme, academic difficulties, adapting to academic work, future career adapting, method of teaching problems, admissions and selection, orientation services, student activities, academic life, living on or off campus, transportation, visa, courses and education./ Financial related - Financial constraint, fee, financial aid, part-time job, lacks adequate research support and scholarship./ Sociocultural related - Personal adjustment, social adjustment, religion differences, cultural adjustment, relationship of international students and teachers, food, lifestyle, language barrier, English difficulties, loneliness, acculturation stress, friendship and interaction./

Health-related - Health insurance, climate, health services, living services (HAMID et al., 2016, p. 651-653).

In the same study, the authors identified three social media roles in facilitating the information-seeking behavior of international students: social interaction, information source, and education advocacy (HAMID et al., 2016).

On the first, social interaction, Hamid et al. (2016) pointed out that some international students find it difficult to express themselves in different cultures because they deal with communication problems with the local students and at the same time with the teachers.

Furthermore, when international students use different technologies, such as Skype, Facebook, and e-mail to interact, these social media stimulate the interaction with local students. As a result, they feel good about learning new cultures and sharing their problems with other international students. The role of Facebook is highlighted since it promotes different connection strategies (public, private, multiple, lightweight, and substantive communication).

However, it is challenging to seek information and interacting with other people altogether.

Information sources are the second one. The authors affirm the significance of Social Network Services (SNSs) supporting the international students’ information needs, especially in their loneliness and information-seeking process. Such as Twitter to track information and

share it in a faster way. Skype to communicate with their families and friends trying to overcome homesickness. Another one used is YouTube videos in their learning classroom homework. Besides that, search engines come first to obtain information compared to online databases and libraries.

Education Advocacy is the third role that was identified in the study. Hamid et al. (2016) stated that undergraduate and graduate students seek information from different social media platforms in the academic context. The academic performance of international students is impacted by adjustment issues, which can be broken down into placement services, academic processes, and financial problems. In this context, social support comforts these students psychologically to release the stress of acculturation, mental health, and emotional growth.

Thus, international students use social media to connect with other people and institutions.

Social media is also an essential source of health. People use it to seek health information, express themselves about it, and share knowledge. They ask questions on different social media platforms to know the point of view of specialists. Besides using social media as social health support, emotional needs and information sources are the first reasons people use it. Concerning international students, they use Facebook to seek health issues and their findings to treat themselves. Furthermore, the contact they have with friends and the faculty through social media help them through adjustment.

The authors Hertzum and Hyldegård (2019) clarify that the students tend to use few source types that are easier to access simultaneously. The authors interpreted these reactions to avoid stress. Furthermore, their findings on the following study were:

With regard to participants' use of online sources Google and the internet were selected for everyday incidents and issues like housing, healthcare, job, and food. Entertainment issues were less frequent. Online sources used for study-related incidents included the in-house systems at the university, such as the learning platform with course materials, which reduced students' needs for actively acquiring or searching study-related material themselves. Social media were only used by some participants, who joined Facebook groups and networks for international students (HERTZUM; HYLDEGÅRD, 2019, p.

13).

On the study published by Worrall, Ballantyne, and Kendall (2019), Frame 4 is describing Information Communication Technologies in common use by international student during the Settlement stage:

Frame 4 - List of ICTs in Common use by International Student Participants – Settlement Stage

ICT type Common examples

Academic

Google docs, Microsoft office, university web sites (home page, library, learning management system, course registration)

Communication Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, email

File & project management Google drive

Finance, shopping, news, entertainment Amazon, banking apps, grocery store apps

Hardware Computer / laptop, cell phone

Navigation Maps (Apple, Google), municipal transit app

Social media Facebook (including events, groups), Instagram

Utility / Misc. Google search

Source: Worrall, Ballantyne, and Kendall (2019, p. 308).

Worrall, Ballantyne, and Kendall (2019) emphasize that the use of Facebook Messenger and email by the interviewees for academic purposes and daily interactions with other students, friends, and colleagues in their home countries. Besides that, the most common social media sources were Facebook and Instagram for everyday information practices, along with the university and student groups, such as events happening on or near campus. Other utilitarian sources used were Google Search and WhatsApp, a messaging app in everyday use outside North America, for daily communication and academic issues.

Because the students came from different cultures, besides their Settlement processes, the ICTs used in daily life were similar to some students and different from others. Such as Baidu Search, Vibr, WeChat, and Weibo. On the other hand, the participants attached firmly to not popular ICTs in North America had adopted many social media and communication apps, like Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram – very common in Canada, while using their existing apps.

Chung and Yoon (2015) also published a study that analyzed the most used information sources by the international students, in this case, considering the three stages of mobility: Pre-arrival, Settlement stage, and Current stage. As presented in Table 2:

Table 2 – Sources for information seeking – all three stages – Pre-arrival/Settlement/ Current Stage

Source Nº of

activities %

Search engine (Google, DuckDuckGo) 64 36

Source Nº of

activities % Social network services (blogs, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Yelp) 32 18

Friends and Family 21 12

Specific website 19 11

YouTube 16 9

University website 9 5

Printed materials (book, magazine, etc.) 7 4

University library site 3 2

Online magazine/news site 3 2

Apps 1 1

Other related person/ organization 2 1

Google Scholar 1 1

Total 178* 100

*The information source was not reported for 85 information activities.

Source: Chung and Yoon (2015, p. 48).

The researchers affirm that the participants of their study have a wide variety of information needs, besides using a wide range of information sources. For example, it can be seen from the data in Table 6 that 36% of the activities come from search engines. Social networks followed them with 18% and friends and family with 12%. It corroborates what other authors mentioned previously that the internet and people are the primary information sources used by international students. Another point is that the students use the SNSs significantly, depending on the type of information needs. Nonetheless, “this result indicates that the participants tend to depend on people within their social networks and previous experiences on specific websites when seeking information.” (CHUNG; YOON, 2015, p. 48).

For Worrall, Ballantyne, and Kendall (2019), the ICTs are essential to the international students since the Pre-arrival stage, when they are still in their home countries. Then, the use of the ICTs increases as they move to Canada. If not, they adopt new ICTs and adapt the existing ones to their current information needs and desires, having social and emotional support simultaneously. That is why the ICTs are considered more “as a help to and in support of settlement than as a barrier” (WORRALL; BALLANTYNE; KENDALL, 2019, p. 313).

5 THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRAZIL –