ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes how social media simultaneously facilitates a vibrant public sphere and creates cultural and social cleavages. It examines the history of social media and cultural practices to understand how social media influences and contributes to our intercultural communication. The book explores how social media constructs identities and enables individuals to express their cultural identities or disables them from doing so. It looks at different contemporary issues relevant to intercultural communication scholarship such as immigration, social movements, and intercultural/international relationships from a social media perspective. The book focuses on the issues of diversity, oppression, and identity in the context of media and intercultural communication. It describes both the negative and positive influences of social media on intercultural communication as these influences interact with social movements.
