With the widespread use of social networking services(SNS), negative information related to foreigners, migrants, and international students has become more easily circulated in online spaces. For Chinese international students in Korea, SNS-based...
With the widespread use of social networking services(SNS), negative information related to foreigners, migrants, and international students has become more easily circulated in online spaces. For Chinese international students in Korea, SNS-based anti-foreigner hate content is not merely online information, but may be connected to their identity, emotional experiences, and evaluation of life in Korea. This study examines the effect of exposure to SNS-based anti-foreigner hate content on life satisfaction among Chinese international students in Korea. It also analyzes the mediating effects of negative emotional contagion and victim empathy, as well as the moderated mediation effect of perceived threat.
Data were collected through an online survey, and 241 valid responses were used for the final analysis. Reliability analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation and moderated mediation analyses using PROCESS Model 14 for R were conducted to test the research hypotheses.
The results showed that exposure to SNS-based anti-foreigner hate content did not have a significant direct effect on life satisfaction. However, it significantly increased negative emotional contagion, which in turn significantly decreased life satisfaction. This indicates that negative emotional contagion mediates the relationship between exposure to SNS-based anti-foreigner hate content and life satisfaction. Exposure to such content also significantly increased victim empathy, but victim empathy did not significantly affect life satisfaction. In addition, perceived threat had a significant negative effect on life satisfaction, but its moderated mediation effect was not supported.
These findings suggest that SNS-based anti-foreigner hate content influences Chinese international students’ life satisfaction mainly through negative emotional contagion rather than a direct pathway. This study contributes to understanding online hate content from the perspective of communication effects and audience experience, and provides implications for international student support, intercultural adaptation education, and SNS literacy education.