Cultural difference in the relationship between internet usage and exclusive nationalism : an analysis of comparative surveys of Japan and the US

インターネット ト ハイガイセイ ノ カンレン ニ オケル ブンカサ : ニホン アメリカ ヒカク チョウサ ノ ブンセキ カラ

フジタ, トモヒロ

Fujita, Tomohiro

オオサカ ダイガク ダイガクイン ニンゲン カガク ケンキュウカ シャカイガク ニンゲンガク ジンルイガク ケンキュウシツ

Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University

排外性

文化差

This paper aims to examine whether or not there is the cultural. difference in the relationship between specific types of internet usage and exclusive nationalism. I analyzed web-based comparative surveys conducted in Japan and the US in 2008 that contained questions relating to exclusive nationalism and attitudes towards immigrants. The results showed that the correlation in the US between the internet and exclusive nationalism was different from that in Japan. In the US posting comments on blogs was associated with lower scores on some aspects of exclusiveness, on the other hand in Japan posting to bulletin boards was associated with heightened exclusiveness in general. These relationships were also confirmed when controlling for other variables such as gender, education, job, household income, TV watching, and reading newspapers. These findings suggest that there is a cultural dimension in the relationship between the internet usage in this context and exclusive nationalism.