Papers from the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Conferences
Publication Date
11-1-2025
Abstract
Social media users share their thoughts on social events, offering insights into the sociocultural climate. Since language reflects related culture, analyzing social media discussions in different languages provides a window into the sociocultural context. In this exploratory study, we examined English and Spanish posts related to the Oscar Slap, which sparked race and gender discussions. We analyzed X posts with #willsmith hashtag in English (N = 28,717) and in Spanish (N = 4,251). The Meaning Extraction Method automated text analyses revealed three similar themes across language cultures, a theme specific to English posts, and two themes unique to Spanish posts. The findings suggest that racial and gender issues are discussed differently across language cultures, reflecting the societal climate in the English-speaking world and the culture of honor in Spanish-speaking contexts. The implications of how cultures are manifested in social media communications are discussed.
ScholarWorks Citation
Lin, M. & Ramírez-Esparza, N. (2025). #willsmith: Text Analyses of X Posts about the Oscar Slap. In Okvitawanli, A., Friedlmeier, W., & Bhangaokar, R. (Eds.). Globalization in Context. Proceedings from the 27th Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. https://doi.org/10.4087/FOQS5754
