Navigating Intercultural Competence and Language Development in the Social Media Age

Abstract

Social media connects individuals and communities across the globe. Social media platforms like Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads enables users to share ideas and traditions in real time and serves as powerful tools for advocacy and change. This constant exchange fosters cultural awareness and global interconnectedness. Social media is also a dynamic tool for language acquisition by offering exposure to multilingual content and enabling interactive communication in real world context. It also presents challenges such as the risk of culturalmis representation, reinforcement of stereotypes and the use of informal language. Like a coin which has two sides, social media offers opportunities and challenges, questioning the notion of cultural understanding and acquisition of languages. This paper explores both the opportunities and challenges and also emphasizes how culture and language is being misrepresented.