The Impact of Social Media on the Cross-Cultural Psychological Adaptation of African International Students in China: A Mediating Effect Study Based on Bonding Social Capital

Against the backdrop of the convergence of internationalization and digitalization in global higher education, how social media influences the psychological adaptation of international students has become an issue of both theoretical and practical significance. This study focuses on African international students in China. Moving beyond a unidimensional examination of social media "usage intensity," it introduces the dimension of "usage behavior" and explores the key mediating role of "bonding social capital." Through a questionnaire survey of 390 African students from universities in cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Nanjing, and employing hierarchical regression analysis and Bootstrap mediation tests, the study finds: First, both social media usage intensity and usage behavior can significantly and negatively predict cultural adaptation stress, with "usage behavior" demonstrating a stronger and more stable predictive effect. Second, bonding social capital plays a full mediating role, but its effect direction contradicts theoretical expectations. Specifically, active social media usage behavior, by enhancing the students' perceived strong ties with their original cultural circles (i.e., bonding social capital), exacerbates their cultural adaptation stress in the host country. This "double-edged sword" effect reveals that in a cross-cultural context, strong native ties reinforced by social media may evolve into a "psychological comfort zone" or "cultural echo chamber." While providing emotional support, they may also intensify cultural comparison, delay the adaptation process, and ultimately lead to greater psychological conflict. This study not only deepens the understanding of the complex mechanisms linking social media use and cross-cultural adaptation, revising the traditional assumption of the unidirectional positive effect of bonding social capital, but also provides empirical evidence and theoretical insights for Chinese universities to optimize social support and psychological services for international students and guide their rational use of social media.