Developing Intercultural Awareness To Approach Thai Students Using Social Media

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Nuffic is welcoming a new support office located in Thailand, which was opened in the beginning of March 2009. Although it has established in other offices in China, Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries, Nuffic needs to develop an intercultural communication competence to approach the Thai market. Thailand is sandwiched in between India and China, which makes Thailand so special and different to other Asian countries. The transition from being underdeveloped to a modern developed state was accomplished only recently, and at great speed. There are obvious challenges between these two countries. Thailand has the tendency to be a collectivist society that emphasises the sense of togetherness and family, which is the total opposite of Holland. Furthermore, the Thais are from high-context society. Considering these facts, the Dutch has to put some efforts to understand and communicate with the Thais. Moreover, Herbig also discussed about religion, gender equality and ethnocentrism, and their correlation with the innovation in Thailand. However, there are some culture shifts that influence the culture in Thai society. Technology has influenced the way people communicate and behave. Thai people are becoming more open-minded and creative; yet at the same time more individualistic. The cyber crime law, indeed, limits the online growth, yet, at the same time, the Thais are becoming more critical and sharp. Acknowledging these challenges and opportunities in approaching the Thais, this research is developed to give recommendation to Nuffic to develop intercultural communication awareness to reach Thai students using social media.

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Table of Contents ABSTRACT 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

3

LIST OF FIGURES 5 INTRODUCTION

6

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

6

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEM STATEMENT

7

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

7

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6

8

GOAL 8 RESEARCH METHOD

8

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

9

DEVELOPING CULTURAL AWARENESS INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES

10

10

COMMUNICATION STYLE 12 INNOVATION

14

CULTURE SHIFT TECHNOLOGY

19

19

WESTERN INFLUENCE STYLE

21

NON CULTURAL BARRIERS

21

CONCLUSION

22

ADVICE PAPER: BECOMING INTERCULTURALLY COMPETENT

24 3

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 BIBLIOGRAPHIES 26 APPENDICES

28

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

List of Figures Table 1: Leading countries in women’s use of the Internet Table 2: Internet users by sex (%) Table 3: Confucian Dynamic Index

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Introduction Background Information The globalisation of national economies has fuelled the need for intercultural communication. The reality of cultural diversity within corporations coupled with an increasing globalisation makes organisations competing to become interculturally competent. Yet, research has shown that despite of this understanding, too many corporate and government (leaders) are operating on an old conception of the world around them and of human nature (). The internet and the development of digital media production and distribution have opened new avenues for media consumers to become media producers and disseminators and have provided means for vastly increased people-to-people communication().

According

to

the

previous

research

and

Dutch

website

tijdbesteding.nl (), people prefer to access internet to look for information, from reading daily news to reading review before buying products. It is apparently not only happening in one part of the world; people from all over the world are experience the shift from consuming traditional media to digital media. Internet is gaining on traditional media, as mentioned in one of the many websites discussing similar matter (Internet Overtakes Newspapers As News Outlet). Nuffic is participating in this web 2.0 culture. With the goal to broaden the target audience , Nuffic wants to be part in the digital communication, providing information to its audience, especially for international students, Nuffic is available in various social media such as multimedia sharing (Youtube and Flickr), weblogs, and social networking sites (Facebook and Friendster). Having offices in 10 different countries requires Nuffic to broaden the knowledge and access towards social media.

Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication occurs whenever a person from one culture sends a message to be processed by a person from a different culture. In spite of the 6

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 country of origin, background, or various Hofstede’s dimensions, social media is bringing people together, to share information and to communicate, in a collective community. Audiences are becoming even more demanding. When they look for information, they want it right here and right now. Failing to find information on certain site will make them going somewhere else. Then, when their need is served, they will leave; and new people are coming again. In the beginning of March 2009, Nuffic launched its new support office (Neso = Netherlands Education Support Office) in Bangkok Thailand to strengthen the relationship between both countries’ higher education. Understanding the trend of social media, also in Thailand, Nuffic wants to be where the students are – be relevant and be visible – thus when the students look for Nuffic, it’s there!

Problem Statement The challenges are now to be aware of and understand the cultural differences between Dutch and Thai cultures in order to be able to approach the students using social media, which leads to the central question of this research: to what extent does culture play a role in influencing Thai students to choose and use social media; and what can Nuffic do to approach Thai students using social media?

Chapter Overview This research will begin with introducing the cultural differences between Holland and Thailand. In this chapter perception and stereotypes about Thailand will be briefly discussed, which will be continued in the following chapter. The next chapter is proposing that culture is dynamic and can be learned, which makes the culture shift. Technology, resources, western culture influence, and other non cultural barriers will be discussed. This chapter will still be hand in hand with the previous chapter: approving or disapproving previous theories. This report will then be concluded in the conclusion chapter, and finally, some advices to develop intercultural competence will be available in the end of this chapter.

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Research Methodology Goal The goal of this research is to give recommendation for Nuffic to develop intercultural awareness in order to be able to reach the Thai students through social media.

Research Methods In order to achieve the goal stated above, this research commenced with a desk research, studying various topics, theories and supporting case studies and articles related to the chosen topic. Intercultural communication and social media are the main concerns for this particular research. Besides theories studies in Culture and Communication class – Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hall, Kluckhohn,– this research also applies Herbig’s theory. The centre of Herbig’s theory is religion, gender equality and ethnocentrism(). Also, Niels Mulder’s anthropology point of view will be applied here as well. Primary research, although not the central point of this research, is carried out to discover public opinion about social media and the use of it among Thai young, Net generation. Four Thai young people were interviewed, both using face-to-face interview, also through online discussion. The transcripts of the interview can be found in the Appendices. Theoretical Frameworks This research is based on several Intercultural Communication theories mentioned below and anthropology theory by Niels Mulder. 1. Hofstede Hofstede’s dimensions are the centre of this research; however collectivism vs. Individualism and power distance are two dimensions that are mostly discussed in this chapter. Short-Long- term orientation is also mentioned in relation to Hall’s low/high-context and monochronic-polychronic time. 2. Hall

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 The obvious challenges between Thailand and Holland are related to time management and communication style. Thais are high-context and Polychronic time society, which is the total opposite of the Dutch. In the final chapter, there will be some advices to comprehend these differences. 3. Trompenaars Trompenaars’ theories are the supplementary theories that support the in depth discussion in chapter 3 and 4: cycle-linear time (which is related to Trompenaar’s Monochronic/Polychronic Time) and Individualism-communitarians. 4. Paul A Herbig Paul A Herbig makes a correlation between innovation and cultural dimensions (national cultures) and provides different approaches to technological change. Apart from Hofstede’s theories, Herbig also applied other categories to analyse innovation from the cultural perspective: ethnocentrism, gender equality, and religion. 5. Kluckhohn Kluckhohn & Strodbeck’s value orientation makes this research even more complete.

Past/Present/Future

orientation,

Mastery/Harmony/Subjugation

and

Being/Being-in-Becoming/Activity are three aspects that underlie this research.

Key of Concepts The complete key of concepts will be inserted in the Glossary in the Appendices; however there are essentials terms that have to be agreed upon before this research is started. 1. Holland: Nuffic is using Holland instead of the Netherlands so that it is easier; and it is indeed more familiar. Thus, in this research, Holland represents the whole the Netherlands. 2. Nuffic: Although there is a slight difference between Nuffic head office and Neso (Netherlands Education Support Office) in Thailand, Nuffic will be used when talking about both Nuffic and Neso; unless there is a need to express it using Neso. 3. Social Media: To avoid misunderstanding, social media in this research refers to all tools or forms of it: weblogs, micro-blogs, social networking sites, Wikipedia, multimedia sharing, etc. 9

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Developing

Cultural

Awareness:

Understanding the Land of Smile. Holland and Thailand are separated 9,176 km away that they rarely share any cultural similarities; even the climate is different. Thailand with its smiley, friendly attitude, yet with strong influence from its history, which respects status separation; and Holland with its strong Calvinistic background that treats everybody equally yet prefer to remain individualistic. Nuffic, as a Dutch organisation, has to develop intercultural intelligence to comprehend its Thai target group: their cultural dimensions, values and behaviour. In this chapter, Thai and Dutch cultures will be put side by side based on intercultural theories from Hofstede, Kluckhohn, Hall, Herbig, and Triandis.

International Challenges Thailand is an untouchable nation during extensive colonization in the nineteenth century, which was formerly known to the Western society as Siam. Thai means “free”, thus Thailand is the “Land of the Free” or the Land of Smiles, and because of influence of Buddhism, it is also called Land of the Yellow Robes. Thailand is also moving rapidly: the transition from being underdeveloped to a modern developed state was accomplished only recently, and at great speed(). As a constitutional monarchy, Thailand possesses remarkable, long history that still influences today’s everyday life (Cooper & Cooper, 2005, p. 28). From the name – the Land of Smiles – there are certain personalities attached to this beautiful country: smiling is the sign of friendliness and presenting the sense of family. Thailand is indeed a collectivist, communitarian culture. Both the authors agree that Asian cultures score relatively lower on individualism than the Protestant West like Holland (). Despite the Thais’ collectivism, social status is respected, which indicates a high power distance society, which is influenced by the existence of monarchy. Respect of hierarchy, obligation, and deferential manners are among the first things a child 10

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 learns as it grows out of infancy. Subsequently, children will learn to keep their emotions to themselves, but also discover that they can get their one way by the show of respectful and obedient behaviour. Thailand is categorised in the “beingoriented” culture, where what a person is matters more than what a person does (Okabe, 1983, p. 24 cited in()). Kluckhohn observes that achievement and development are not as important in a traditional vertical society such as Thailand where an individual's birth, family background, age and status is more important. As other Western cultures, Dutch culture is inclining towards individualism, yet it is predisposed towards small power distance. This is influenced by the fact that Holland is the only country in Western Europe that has long been under the minimal influence of feudalism, its social class division is not evident and its egalitarian values have prevailed since its foundation(). Dutch tend to dislike both status difference and vertical relationship, often equate power distance with power abuse and try to minimise all disparity in daily life. Social status stems from achievement, not ascription in Holland. These cultural dimensions are reflected in most Dutch corporate cultures. The hierarchical pyramid in Dutch organisations, such as Nuffic is decidedly flat: everybody is equal (Lewis, 2005, p. 246). Dutch people dislike superiority, thus, also in the daily life; they want to be treated equally, which is strongly influenced by its Calvinistic background (Calvinistic will be explained in the next session). All these traits make Dutch organisation likely to apply a bottom-up management (Rosnay, 2009). Thailand is also known for its loose culture1 (in comparison with Japan), as a result of it is sandwiched between India and China (Triandis, 2004, p. 5). Triandis explains that in loose culture, when people do not do what they are supposed to do, other people may just smile and let go; this refers to Hofstede’s low uncertainty avoidance. Hofstede slightly disagreed with Triandis by putting Thailand in the higher position of 64 than the Asian average of 58 (Hofstede). Niels Mulder (1996, p. 67) agreed with Hofstede: he studied Thailand as a society of rather conservative people that appreciates the predictability and quietness – the security – of well-

1

While in tight culture, everything is controlled by rules, norm, or standard, and if it is interrupted, there will be certain criticism or punishment. However in loose culture, in that situation are likely to say: “it does not matter.” (Triandis, 2004, p.5 (Triandis) [online])

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 ordered social life to which they willingly conform; as long as people honour its rules, there is room for some tolerated individual deviation. Hofstede gives Dutch a slightly lower scores than Thailand, which shows that both Dutch and Thai have neither low nor high Uncertainty Avoidance (the Dutch scores similar Uncertainty Avoidance rank (58) to Thailand (64)) (Hofstede, [online]). Meekanon mentions Dutch culture is learning towards weak uncertainty avoidance (), which makes Dutch people likely to tolerate different opinions in the society and accept the concept of unity through diversity readily.

Communication Asian is worldly known for its high-context together with polychronic-time culture, which could be the global stereotype about Asian (maybe excluding Japanese). Asian is known for its layback culture, which is possibly triggered by the warm Asian climate, at least in the eye of European people. Asian is also famous with its indirectness (high context); Thais are one of them. Buddhism is the biggest influence to high context practice, because of its famous teaching to not believe in verbal language, because “language is considered deceptive and misleading with regard to the matter of understanding the truth (Gudykunst and Kim, 2003, p. 217, cited in (Larry A. Samovar, 2007)).”Theravada Buddhism is the most important form of Buddhism in Thailand (Lewis, 2005, p. 471). High context culture, which carries many implicit messages expressed with non verbal communication, is the opposite of Dutch low context society. Because of the Dutch Calvinistic background, the Dutch is taught to be honest, which leads them to be direct. In the article titled ‘How Calvinistic is modern Dutch society?’ (), Han van der Horst identified Dutch as being “Calvinists at heart”. He characterised them as “hard working, modest and distrustful of luxury, with a certain despisal for decadence.” Furthermore, Edward T. Hall also identified Thai society as polychronic – time (PTime) society, which complements its high-context practice. Thais see time as a cycle (Trompenaars defined this behaviour as Circle Time), in which they like to engage in many different activities during the same time block. “Flexibility in time use and changes of activity are common and expected.”() This is the opposite of Dutch, low-context, Monochronic time (M-Time) personality. Relationship with Other People 12

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 The context and time orientation above are indicating that Thai society is a longterm orientation society. For the Thais, it takes time to build relationship with new people, because this new relationship has to be based on trust. Therefore, it is tough for a stranger (Dutch2, for instance) to enter this circle, because it takes a lot of effort to understand what the Thais are discussing. Nevertheless, in spite of the public stereotypes above, Thailand is uniquely different to its neighbours. Its past orientation has made the Thais, even the younger generation, respect its national heritage. Furthermore, Buddhism has shaped the Thais to live in harmony with nature, which creates a society that values smooth interaction and the avoidance of overt conflict. In everyday life, this is induced by appropriate polite behaviour that is expressed befitting presentation(). The Thais are reluctant to be different thus they remain indifferent and of restraining themselves emotionally, especially when they have no power or influence (). As it is mentioned in the earlier session, Thais like predictability and quietness in life. Therefore, according to Woody, a Thai student studying at the Hague University, Thais prefer to have face-to- face conversation, to send e-mail or to have online chat (Interview transcript is available in Appendices). Quietness is achieved through the smile. The name ‘the land of smile’ is showed in the way the society often smiles, not only to show respect and excitement, but also to hide insecurity and anxiety.

Thai

Dutch

Collectivism

Individualism

High power distance

Respect status separation Hierchacical corporate structure: uneven

Beingoriented

what a person is matters more than what a person does

Influenced by Buddhism

Low power distance

Dislike status separation Hierarchical Corporate Structure: Flat

Influenced by Calvinistic Culture

2

The Dutch, which as the tendency to be in a high context culture, people are involving personal lives, family, and personal background to business discussion, which is a total opposite of low context culture discussion.

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Loose culture High Context Polychronic Time

= low uncertainty avoidance

(Lower) Loose culture

= leaning towards low uncertainty avoidance

Low Context Monochronic Time

Long term orientation

Short-term orientation

Innovation Internet in Thailand is at 20.5% penetration with 13,4M users largely made up of working adults and students in the key cities, although broadband penetration is still rare (). In parallel, social media is gathering pace in Thailand particularly around community and social networking functions. In contrast, mobile is well established with mobile penetration at 72% having grown in six years from 8m to 53m by 2007. Comparing to the neighbours, Thailand is a little behind,3 which proves what Niels Mulder () stated about predictability and quietness (security). The Thais are hesitant to change, firstly because they appreciate predictability. Second, it is because they don’t want to be different or draw attention to themselves. Also, the way Thai society embracing innovative, digital media like social media are influenced by traditions and religions4. Strong Buddhism5 influence makes the Thais want to control the spread of technology instead. Woody, the Thai student, also mentioned that it, indeed, takes time for the Thais to change and adjust to a new technology. He mentioned 3G, innovation in the use of mobile phone that has been very popular in Asia, such as Indonesia and Singapore since the year of 2007, is relatively new in Thailand; and not many people want to embrace this new innovation. This fact is in contrast with what Maitland studied in an article titled ‘Global Diffusion of Interactive Network’. 3

India is one of the fastest growing online markets in the region with a total of 60m and projected to grow 71m users and 10.5m broadband users in 2011. China, as of July 2008, there were an official 253m online users, with over 214m broadband users (OglivyOne). 4

Western values of ‘conquering the frontier’ and dominating nature are in stark contrast to the Buddhist emphasis on spiritual development, respects all beings, living in moderation and harmony with the environment without causing harm (Krisana Kitiyadisai). 5

“Modern technology should be created to enable the development of human potential and quality of life and not to promote spiritual defilement such as greed, anger, selfishness, and oppression (Krisana Kitiyadisai).”

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 Maitland studied that in Thai culture where status symbols are accepted (high power distance), communication technologies will have increased perceived relative advantage and, thus, are more likely to be adopted(). Maitland also applied Herbig’s theory, which suggests that nations with higher gender equality will be more innovative simple because they are tapping the potential of a larger percentage of their population (Herbig, 1994, cited in ()). Women in Thailand are also making significant progress in knowledge society areas. With regard to Internet usage, women overtook men as a majority of users n 2001, and their numbers have continues to increase since then ().

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Table 1: Leading countries in women’s use of Internet % female Internet Country Philippines Mongolia Thailand (2003) United States New Zealand Canada Australia (2005 2006) Hong Kong

users (among all Internet users) 58,0 56,0 52,6 52,0 51,5 51,0 -

50,7 50,0

Source: Sophia Huyer (2008, cited in ()), “Gender and the Core ICT Indicators, “Presented to 2008 Global Event for Measuring information society, Geneva, 27-29 May.

Table 2: Internet users by sex (%) Sex 1999 Female 34,9 Male 65,1

2000 49,2 50,8

2001 51,2 48,8

2002 51,7 48,3

2003 52,6 47,4

Source: NECTEC (2002, cited in ()), Internet User Profile Survey and National Statistical Office, Thailand for 2002 and 2003.

Confucianism Herbig listed Thailand as the 2nd in Confucian Dynamic scores (Herbig, 1994, p.109). According to Herbig (1994, p.108) societies with high Confucian Dynamic scores would tend to have greater sourcing innovative capacities6, especially for lower order innovations. Thailand happened to be listed as the second highest country with high Confucian Dynamic scores. This could possibly mean

6

The innate ability of a society to innovate, determined (as will be argued) by its cultural attributes and its structural components().

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Table 3: Confucian Dynamic Index (Source: Herbig, 1994, p. 110) Country

Index

Rank

Australia Brazil Canada Germany Great

31 65 23 31

11-12 5 16 11-12

Britain Hong Kong India Japan South

25 96 61 80

15 1 6 3

Korea Netherlan

75

4

ds New

44

9

Zealand Philippines Singapore Sweden Taiwan Thailand United

30 19 48 33 87 56

13 17 8 10 2 7

States

29

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Ethnocentrism Finally, Maitland stated that cultures low in ethnocentrism will begin diffusion of interactive networks before ethnocentric cultures (Maitland, 1999), because they will be more open to the ideas of other cultures. Herbig explains that individualism, diversity, and tolerance are keys to innovation. Thus, homogenous7 societies like Thailand would inhibit radical innovations or inventions (Herbig, 1994, p. 116). The propositions listed above are only a small subset of a bigger picture of the correlation between innovation and cultural influence. Some of the facts above can 7

The high Thai ethnic proportion was also expected to generate a high cultural homogeneity score (Chan, 2003).

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 be taken into consideration and be a starting point for every intercultural communication; however there are shifts, changes, new influences and also governmental control that make these theories less practical. Globalisation, technology, and governmental decreeing cyber crime law are the stimulus in the culture shift in Thailand.

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Culture Shift: From Past Oriented to be Open-Minded Most of the theories discussed above were written before, for instance, Obama used social media to support his campaign, or before IPod and Laptop became the trend, and of course before the globalisation matters like it does now. According to Samovar(), culture is learned, thus it is dynamic. Although there, is of course a tendency toward certain dimensions; yet culture in a country is changing, due to the influence from many different aspects: technology, western influence, and other non cultural barriers.

Technology Students who have grown up with the Internet appear to use information technology and online information effortlessly. They are called digital natives8 or generation Y, or George Lorenzo called them Net Generation in his article(). Technology has definitely changed the way people communicate and behave in a society, as it changes the way young people live in Thailand. According to an article titled “Gauging the Cyber Gap”, having grown up with net-related technologies and embraced them has become distinctively more open, worldly and expressive than that came before (Fry, 2007). Internet and technology are influencing many young Thais in the way they think or behave; it has made them more individualistic9, occupied in their own world; however at the same time, they are also more collectivist, or more open, because of the social media exposure. They have more friends from another part of the world. They can speak and understand more languages, or at least improving their English skill – although Thai, the national language, is the native, most-spoken language.

8

Digital natives are comfortably and confidently searching for information, meeting people online, exchanging information. They are not only in touch with their friends but, evidently, trusting the information – and individuals – they encounter online. 9

The convergence of phones, computers, cameras, television, and radio suggests that we are header evermore quickly to an individualistic and increasingly nomadic world, where you can carry your world around with you, anywhere().

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 Unfortunately, according to a number public opinion polls, it seems the general public also finds this generation, with their tight clothes and technology dependencies, to be a lot less moral than ever before (Fry, 2007). In the same article, Chulanee, a sociologist and anthropologist from Chulalongkorn University, discovered that adults and those in the Net Generation view and use technology in completely different ways. While older generations tend to view computers as machines for work and use them for word procession and basic office applications, the Net generation will use them for work, but also for convenience in everyday communications and entertainment. The four Thai students that were interviewed supported this statement with their similar statements that social media is merely for entertainment. The number of Thais using social media is increasing rapidly. Despite its past orientation, which results in its reluctance (or delay) to change, Thailand is exposed to social media. Social media is to some extent also used to express opinion and discussion. Although the Thais will keep their emotions to themselves, which limit them from using blogs or other form of social media to express themselves, the number of bloggers is increasing from day to day. In the past bloggers were mostly for teenagers, who wrote their journal, love experience or quarrel; however nowadays the number of good quality blogs are increasing. In contrast, the Dutch that is by nature more direct and expressive is hesitant to get involved in various forms of social media, firstly, because they value privacy. They do not want each other to know what they are up to: their current activities, the food they eat, people they hang out with, etc. Secondly, also because of the Dutch, well-known straightforwardness, they prefer to speak up and there is no need for them to express themselves otherwise. During the process of writing this report, an article announced that the Dutch now prefer weblogs more than e-mails(). Despite the popularity of social media in Thailand, the Thais have not yet perceived it as a formal way of communication; neither is it reliable source of information. Mobile phone is, on the other hand, more reliable for communication in Thailand; and it is indeed more popular10. According to several interviews conducted with some Thai young generation, they clearly stated that they prefer to use mobile 10

. Thailand’s mobile penetration has reached 82% in the early 2008 ()

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 phone to contact their friends or family – using short text message (SMS) or making phone calls. This proves the point that Niels Mulder stated earlier about certainty and predictability; however, as Fry wrote in her article that Thai younger generation is more open, Pie and Gift (interview script is available in Appendices), said that they start to use IM (instant messaging) to chat with people that they are not close with; just for the sake of chitchatting or having some small talks11.

Western Influence Although it is not apparent, some western influence has triggered the Thais (young generation) to be more open, creative and feel free express opinions. This reflects in the way the Thais are interacting in social media. They dare to introduce themselves to new people, to get involved in discussion, and to leave comments at each other posts or pictures; this is what most Thais do online. However, no matter how much Thai culture has been affected by Western values, the true Thai spirit still remains among the Thais().

Non Cultural Barriers A. Government Negative perception coming from adults that judge Net generation to be a lot less moral than ever before is not merely nonsense. Internet has been blamed for its role in arousing pornography and terrorists. A 2006 Abac survey found that 60% of 1,464 15-24 year olds had seen porn on the internet, and 70% of those had downloaded it; some of them were found in Youtube. Freedom Against Censorship Thailand said that more than 10,000 sites are on the ICT’s blocking list (not only pornography contents are blocked, but also those that show an insult to the Thailand Royal family). In the year of 2008, some monks were caught flirting at social networking sites, which have given even more negative impact to internet, especially social media (). The freedom in the digital world is indeed limited in Thailand. Cyber Crime law that has been implemented in result to the increase of pornography resources and other junks, is seen as threat to people’s freedom rather than protecting their right (). Nuffic has to carefully bear this in mind, because of, first of all, the vast cultural From the interview, Woody said that although social media is not yet a reliable source of information nor formal way of communication, e-mail is increasingly recognised as a new, formal way of communication. 11

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 difference between Holland and Thailand. Also, what is right in Holland might be not okay at all in Thailand. Thus, every content coming from Nuffic – whether it is promotions or information – has to be considered, reconsidered, and once again reconsidered. B. Facilities Finally, another bottleneck for fully embracing social media is lack of facility. Broadband internet is not yet accessible everywhere; also devices like notebook or PCs are not yet affordable for all Thailand citizens.

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Conclusion Nuffic has recently opened its new support office (Neso) in Bangkok, Thailand. This requires an intercultural competence to understand and approach the target group: the Thai students. With the growth of digital media in Thailand, it is necessary to observe the extent of intercultural communication influences the use of social media in Thailand. The research is to give recommendation to develop intercultural awareness in order to reach the Thai students using social media. Thailand is a unique country sandwiched between India and China. The transition from being underdeveloped to a modern developed state was accomplished only recently, and at great speed. There are obvious challenges between these two countries. Thailand has the tendency to be a collectivist society that emphasises the sense of togetherness and family, which is the total opposite of Holland. Yet, Thailand has differences and separation when it comes to social status. Furthermore, the Thais are from high-context society. Considering these facts, the Dutch has to put some efforts to understand and communicate with the Thais. Moreover, Herbig also discussed about religion, gender equality and ethnocentrism, and their correlation with the innovation in Thailand. An appealing result came out: (1) there are more women, who are active on the internet, in comparison to men; (2) Thailand scores high in Confucianism index, which shows that its structure and cultural attribute support Thailand for new innovation. Even though these intercultural communication theories are the basis of this research, there are some culture shifts, which influence and shape the society. Technology is the main discussion in this chapter, because it makes the Thais, who are by nature collectivist, to be more individualist. Western culture also plays a role to make the Thais more creative and open. Finally, in contrast, despite the stimulus to embrace the new innovation – social media – government put some barriers by declaring cyber crime law. This is also supported by older generation, who considers internet and other new digital devices to be negative and evil. According to the findings from desk research and interview, the main bottlenecks are to address and facilitate the Thais’ high-context/long-term and polychronic time behaviour. Furthermore, also because of the cyber crime law, there are some 23

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 sensitive issues like pornography or things that are related to the Royal family that have to be avoided. However, all these theories and stereotypes about Thailand have to be reconsidered because of the new technology coming in Thailand, western influence, and the famous Thai cyber crime law. Technology, for instance, has made the Thais to become more individualistic, also more open-minded and creative at the same time. The cyber crime law, indeed, limits the online growth, yet, at the same time, the Thais are becoming more critical and sharp. Thai students are, indeed, on social media, even though, they are not as overwhelmed by it as Indonesian students (see previous research paper); however they are embracing this new way of communication. Thais are changing, as with all people everywhere. Although traditions remain what they always were, however, theories, stereotypes and prejudices should not hinder Nuffic to approach the Thais using social media, because they are so ready!

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

Advice

Paper:

Becoming

Interculturally Competent Being Intercultural Communication Competent is behaving appropriately and effectively in a given context().

Knowledge 1. Nuffic has to get rid of the stereotype of Thais equal Asian, because every Thai is unique and has a unique personality. 2. Nuffic needs to consider the strong influence of Buddhism and monarchy, which makes Thais respect status separation and the tendency to be indirect in their conversation. 3. The Thais are slow to learn and accept new things like technology or innovation. Although social media and e-mail is well-known, most Thai still prefers to have face-to-face conversation. 4. Thai Women are very educated, thus although there is status difference (between old and young, for instance), but gender equality is absolute. 5. Due

to

culture

shift,

Thai

young,

Net

generation

is

slightly

more

individualistic; yet they still like to be part of a group. Also, they are more open to new things. 6. Thai is still the national language, and is mostly used; however, because the Thais are more open, they are keen to learn other languages, including practising their English.

Attitude 1. Acknowledging all the challenges mentioned in this research, yet do not see that as limitation. At the same time, embrace the opportunities lie among the Thai students. 2. Consider the cyber crime law. The Thai government is fussy about issues related to pornography or insult to the Royal family. Nuffic needs to discern images or information that is or is not appropriate for this country. 25

Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009 3. The Thais invest in long-term orientation relationship, which will become apparent in their (online) discussion that will involve family, age, marital status, background, etc. This may take some times; yet it is worth doing. Once the Thais invite you are in their ‘zone’, the Thais will be glad to have you. 4. Social media is growing – slowly but sure. Weblogs, social network sites, and multimedia sharing like Youtube are now part of the Thais young generation. It is worth investing in building relationship on social media.

Behaviour 1. Invest time to explore social media in Thailand. Nowadays the Thais are on these following sites: HI5, Facebook, Multiply, MSN space, YouTube. However, most discussions are happening on other sites, such as www.oknation.net, www.sanook.com, and www.pantip.com. 2. The Thais will go to specific, credible sites to look for information. They usually visit www.vichakain.com to search for education and scholarship. 3. Having a support office is a very good move, because the Thais still prefer face-to-face (or direct) communication rather than e-mail, chatting, or Facebook conversation. 4. Although the gap is not big, there are more women actively using Internet – online media. Thus, Nuffic needs to anticipate this by, for instance, hiring more female staffs that are willing to spend time with the (female) students, chitchatting or just answering their endless e-mail. 5. Finally, a continuous observation to see how the group moves or changes (in the real life or in social media) is extremely important, especially knowing that Thai is more and more open, yet still needs time to adjust.

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Culture and Communication – MICM The Hague University 2008/2009

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