HOW MARRIAGE-IMMIGRANT FEMALES OBTAIN SOCIAL CAPITAL THROUGH FACEBOOK: A CASE STUDY OF VIETNAMESE FEMALES IN TAIWAN

The use of both information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social networking sites (SNSs) are critical to the migrants as ICTs and SNSs support virtual interpersonal communication and enhance emotional and information support. Previous studies related to the marriage-immigrant females in Taiwan show that marriage-immigrant females lose their connections and support from homeland and confront difficulties, like culture conflicts, language inability, and negative public discourses in the host society. This study aims to explore how the marriage-immigrant females in Taiwan reconnect to their homeland, build local social network and obtain social capital through the usage of ICTs and SNSs. 10 Vietnamese marriage-immigrant females were interviewed for research data. Our findings present that the marriage-immigrant females adopt ICTs aggressively due to the urge to connect with their families. The use of SNSs helps the marriage-immigrant females not only to extend their offline network into virtual community but also to build new community by meeting more friends online, sharing information and support, and obtaining resources from the host society. While articulating theoretical and practical contributions concerning how ICTs and SNSs can enhance the development of social network and capital, we hope to address this lack of understanding and establish a successful approach for future marriage-immigrant female studies