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The Problem with Facebook in Japan

Adam is a dedicated researcher about new media trends. He has been researching about online social networks since 2005.

The Japanese online community has always been known to value anonymity. Past research also shows that when compared with Westerners, Japanese tend to have a higher fear of negative appraisal and low levels of self-disclosure.

To explore how Japanese online behavior impacts Facebook adoption, we have conducted two focus group sessions with 18 Facebook members who prefer to use the local online social network service Mixi. Our findings indicated that the biggest concern among these users is Facebook’s real name policy. However, when asked if they would start using Facebook again if anonymity were allowed, most of the participants noted their reluctance because communication in Japanese was more convenient on Mixi.

Methodology

The focus group sessions were held at a public university in Southern Japan on June 1st and June 10th (6 and 12 participants respectively). The study was announced to the students via email where the participation criteria was “having an experience of using Facebook in the past but not currently using it.” All of the participants were college students majoring in International Relations or English and given an extra class credit for their participation. Below is the summary of our findings from the focus group sessions:

1. Facebook lacks basics in Japan

Studies show that there are four major factors that impact online social network continuance, namely:

The platform is seen as more secure
The platform has a better user interface
The platform is perceived as more popular
The platform is seen as a good source of information
Sources/More readings: 1, 2, and 3 All of our participants agreed that Facebook is less secure, has a more complicated user interface, and is definitely not popular compared with Mixi (their preferred online social network). The users indicated that they prefer Twitter to gather information rather than Mixi or Facebook. Regarding the interface, participants evaluated Facebook as open, bold, and aggressive – but also complicated and not “Japanese friendly.” 2. Real name policy is a problem, but not a huge deal

When asked if they stopped using FB because of its real name policy, a majority of the participants said yes. On the other hand, when we prompted if they would actively use Facebook if anonymity (kamei) were allowed, most of the respondents seemed reluctant. The respondents stated that Facebook was an international platform. To communicate with their Japanese friends, they saw Mixi as just enough, citing they see no additional value in Facebook. This is an interesting finding because all of the concerns users expressed about using Facebook were related with the real name policy. 3. The Risks of Using Facebook

a) Old friends, acquaintances, and co-workers can easily find them and ask to be friends. (For foreigners it might be easier to just reject the request but this seems very difficult in Japanese culture)

b) They might make a mistake when posting an update (One user mentioned how embarrassed she felt after wrongly posting a happy birthday message in English.)

c) Whatever they post on their walls might be irrelevant or bothersome to some of the members on the network.(Japanese are very concerned about not bothering others (Gomewakuo kaku) d) Photo-tagging is an invitation for invasion of privacy. (They mentioned their uneasiness to use the tagging function because, even if that photo is seen by a friend of a friend, it still feels like a stranger is looking at their picture).

e) Sponsored stories without users permission is an invasion of privacy.

f) Facebook is an open door for spam and pushy marketing practices. (Users mentioned that they received a lot of spam and flirty messages from people they did not know. Some users also mentioned that their friends’ Facebook accounts were hacked and that this never happens on Mixi)