Within a given society, social relationships and communications
are influenced by the dominant cultural orientation of that
society (Singelis, 1994). Given that social interaction among
users is one of the most critical motivations for using social
media (Kim, Sohn, & Choi, 2011), the role that cultural differences
play in communication on social media needs to be
investigated. For example, when individuals from collectivistic
cultures communicate with others, they are concerned more
about the context and the situational factors of the communication,
such as the voice level and gestures of their counterparts
(Triandis, 2001). In contrast, individuals from individualistic
cultures pay more attention to their own internal repertoire of
thoughts and feelings compared to those of others (Markus &
Kitayama, 1991). These different communication styles can be
associated with individuals' construal levels. An examination of
how one's cultural orientation influences the relationship between
the structural features of social media and construal-level
messages awaits future research.