1. Usage of Facebook between
Japan and the US
Saki Hatada
Mio Ohniwa
Risa Ando
Social Media Seminar
Professor: Adam Acar

2. About
Asked OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS to
• 25 Gaidai students
• 28American students
About
• How using Facebook in daily life
• 25 questions

3. 1. Privacy concerns
Japanese
• address
• where you are
• pictures of themselves
• register in real name
• tagged in picture without noticing
• phone numbers
• job hunting
• don’t know who’s looking at the profile page

4. 1. Privacy concerns
Americans
• don’t know who’s looking at profile
• if policeman looks
• where you are
• employers accessing to profile
• keeps records of website visited
• application tells where you are
• company is selling personal data
• friends don’t might share personal information

5. 1. Privacy concerns
• Japanese: all people had some concerns
• American: 8 people answered no
⇒have control over privacy
Americans knows better at controlling
privacy?

6. 2. Security concerns
Japan
• can be predicted because of real name
• address and school
• application is kind of like spam
• Google search
• tagged on picture which you didn’t want to show
• friend request sent from people who don’t know
• 8 /20 →no

7. 2. Security concerns
USA
• phone number
• email address
• someone could pretend you
• easy to gain private information
• house being robbed
• 19 /27→no

8. 3. Using Facebook to study
Japanese
Good→13 /25
• can question and answer a lot so it’s effective
• good to collect many people’s idea
• can make secret groups and share information easily
• get contact easily
• Facebook is familiar for us

9. 3. Using Facebook to study
Japanese
Bad→12 /25
• force to use Facebook for the lesson is not good
• mailing list is enough
• for people using cellular phone is inconvenient
• all the people maybe can’t access to Facebook
• who doesn’t have account for Facebook are forced to
participate
• just doing regular class is fine
• don’t use that much in daily life and troublesome

10. 3. Using Facebook to study
American
Good→15 /28
• convenient to organize
• central part of social world
• collect public insight
• very helpful when coordinate study groups
• easy to form groups
• efficient for communication
• interactive than mail chains
• almost everyone uses Facebook
• they know how to use it and be comfortable

11. 3. Using Facebook to study
American
Bad→13 /28
• not effective
• keep social life separate
• not as a learning tool
• ask directly to teachers is better
• teachers can’t keep students to focus
• everyone doesn’t have Facebook
• easily distracted
• less formal
• don’t know how effective

12. 4. Professors who require their students to
participate in class discussions on Facebook
Japanese
Good→5 /22
Bad→10/22
• can’t use internet at home
• doesn’t have a computer
• not good to force people to use Facebook
• it’s interesting but don’t know why using Facebook
Don’t know→7 /22

13. 4. Professors who require their students to
participate in class discussions on Facebook
USA
Good Bad
• convenient • dislike
• easier to give homework • shouldn’t be required
• feel forced
• 7 /28
• strange
• illogical and distracted
• troublesome
• force to have Facebook account
• should have separate website
• don’t have access to internet
• have to check every students
attending
• 21 /28

14. 5. Be friends with professors
Japanese
Good →17 /25
• you can share ideas and knowledge
• Can have contact even there’s no lectures
• if professor accept it
• you can motivate
But
• your privacy will be known
• you should care what you’ll upload
• there’s pictures you don’t want to show to professors
• what you can upload will be limited

15. 5. Be friends with professor
American
 Good→7 /27
• if professor is ok
• helps create closer relationships within the classroom
• can stay in contact and became closer to professors
• helps communicating
• facilitate learning and improve student performance
 Bad→16/27
• having group page is better
• not appropriate
• strange
• after graduation:11
 up to students and professors→4/27

16. 6. How often updating status
Japanese Americans
• no:9/23 • no:13/28
• sometimes:6 • yes:8
• only photos:4 • once every week:7
• yes :1
• once a week:1
• once a month:1
• use twitter:1

17. 7. What kind of status
Japanese
• what you thought and felt:5
• club activities:4
• big events:3
• bought this item
• good movies on you tube
• about self and friends
• share links
• interested

18. 7. What kind of status
American
• something interesting:14
• self:11
• big news:5
• event:2
• my friends:2
• activity:2
• family:1
• weather:1

19. 8. How often and what kind of picture
do you update
Japanese
• no:9/25
• sometimes :7
• yes:6
• about 2 times in a month:1
 What kind
• scene:3
• club:3
• trip:3
• food:2
• yourself and friends:2
• event :2
• interesting:1
• daily life:1

20. 8. How often and what kind of picture
do you update
American
• no: 13/27
• yes:10/27
• only after trip: 4/27
 What kind
• self and friend:8
• vacation:7
• travel:6
• activity:5
• interesting and funny:3
• food:2
• event :2
• family:1

21. 9. How do you think about people
uploading often
Japanese
Good or not bad→22/24
• skip the people who don’t know but will look at friends
• pictures are fine but all in writing is not interesting
• can use Facebook
• can know about people’s status
• fun to watch other people
Bad→2/24
• think about tagging picture
• should know you are uploading with your responsibility

22. 9. How do you think about people
uploading often
American
• annoying:5
• depends on the post:4
• don’t feel anything:3
• want attention:2
• don’t know:2
• has right to post
• overusing
• self-centered
• great ways to share photos

23. 10. When use Facebook
Japanese Americans
• before sleep:8/23 • before bed:10/27
• after coming back from school:4 • all the time:6
• while going to school:4 • after work:3
• at night:3 • after classes:2
• when having time:2 • lunch break:2
• got new message from • during the day:2
Facebook:1 • when wake up:2

24. 11. What kind of messages and photos do
you usually “like”?
Americans Japanese
 Funny one (16/28)  Photos or messages
 The one they agree related to them
with  Pictures of beautiful
 Cute one scenery
 Something related with  Story of friends having
their hobbies a good time

25. 12. Do you think others “like” your
updates because of Reciprocity?
American Japanese
 Yes (5/26)  Yes(8/22)
“I think some people do  No (14/22)
because they don't want to
seem like they're not paying
attention to what their *Most of them answered
friends are posting.” no, but they said they feel
 No(21/26) that way sometimes.
NO!

26. 13. Do you respond to each comment?
American Japanese
 Yes (2/28)  Yes (26/26)
“I usually do because it's
courteous and helps  No (0)
facilitate interactions with
my friends.”
*Most Japanese feel not
 No (26/28) responding to comment
“No. If what I'm saying isn't
is impolite.
genuine and sincere then I
don't say it. I don't comment
just for the sake of
commenting.”

27. 14. What is your profile picture like?
Americans Japanese
 Themselves (27/28)  Themselves (22/25)
with family, friends, or  Illustration (3/25)
lover.
 Illustration (1/28)

28. 15. Do you think profile pictures reflect
one's personality?
American Japanese
 Yes (18/26)  Yes (24/26)
“They reflect how someone  No (2)
wants to be perceived by
others.”
“Yes, the type of picture
shows what the person truly
thinks of them self.”
 No(1/26)
 Sometimes (7/28)

29. 16. What do you think about a person who doesn't
show his/her face in the profile picture?
American Japanese
 Most of American's  Most of them think it's
answers are negative. okay and they
 Some of them think understand about
people have privacy security concerns.
concerns. (21/25)
*hiding something, not
confident, annoying,
creepy, wired... etc

30. 17. Have you untag photos of yourself?
American
Japanese
 Yes (25/28)
 Yes (10/25)
“If there is alcohol, if it's not
actually a picture of me, or if  No (15/25)
it is too unprofessional-
looking. I'm studying
journalism and employers
will definitely be looking at
my social media websites.”
 No(3/28)

31. 20. Being Friends with Parents
Japanese Foreigners
No Yes
19/25 23/28

32. 20. Being Friends with Parents
Japanese － Why not?
• Parents do not have accounts
• Feel that they are watched
• Privacy
• Parents will worry
• Embarrassing

33. 20. Being Friends with Parents
Foreigners – Why?
• Nothing to hide
• Communication tool
• Actually regret
• Limit parents’ access
• ×post what do not want parents to know

34. 21. Miscommunication on FB
Japanese Foreigners
No Yes
100% 23/28

35. 21. Miscommunication on FB
• Hard to tell the tone of post
• Sarcasm
• “Communicating with someone through text is sadly
inferior to speaking in person
because you lose body language, tone, inflection,
and facial expressions”.

36. 21. Miscommunication on FB
• Misinterpreting
• “Sometimes, there are occasions when I misinterpret
what somebody’s trying to say in a post because the
sentences can be read in multiple ways”.

37. 22. What Hesitate to Post
Messages Photos
• Mental abuse • Embarrass or humiliate
• Negative message friends
• Super personal message • Underage drinking
• Complaints
• Offensive message

38. 22. What Hesitate to Post
Japanese Foreigners
• Drinking alcohol
• boast (Affect job interviews)
• Political
• Religious
(Friends don’t all share
their beliefs)

39. 23. Presenting themselves better
Q. “Do you have friends who want to present
themselves better or cooler than they are?
Do you think this kind of people are the majority”?

40. 23. Presenting themselves better
A. Yes. It’s Normal.
• Everyone wants to present themselves in a positive
light
• Most people present who they want to be, not who
they really are
• “No” ― 0nly 7 Japanese and 3 foreigners

41. 24. P.C. or Smart Phone
A. Smart phone, but prefer P.C.
Smart Phone P.C.
• Whenever they are out and have • Much faster
time to log on
• Easy to type with the keyboard
• Take picture and upload quickly
• Better for seeing picture because
it’s bigger
×Take too long time
×Small • Can change the settings that we
cannot on smart phones

42. 25. Facebook and Other SNSs
Q. Connect Facebook and Other SNSs?
Japanese
No 100%
• Each SNS has different purpose.

43. 25. Facebook and Other SNSs
Japanese
Facebook Twitter
• More broad friends • Only close friends
(co-workers, friend’s friend,
old friends, • Post many times,
not very close friends, friends in • Post too often for Facebook
hometown) • Post even uninteresting things
• Using as an album
• To contact with friends

44. 25.Facebook and Other SNSs
Foreigners
Facebook
• To intaract with friends
• “I use Twitter to Tweet, and to talk about food. And I
use Facebook to talk and keep up with friends. I don’t
feel the need to update everything in every SNSs”.

45. 25.Facebook and Other SNSs
Foreigners
Only Facebook – 8
Twitter – 10
• To post more about things they are doing
• To post how they are feeling
• To follow famous people

46. 25.Facebook and other SNSs
• Thumblr
• Pinterest
• Foursquare
to post location
• Instagran
to post more pictures than on Facebook