Evaluating the use of LINE software to support interaction during an American travel course in Japan

Abstract

This paper describes our use of the LINE social media software system to promote interaction, convey mood and emotion, and teach students about Kawaii culture during an international travel course that exposes undergraduate students at an American liberal arts college to Japanese culture, technology and design. The LINE user experience incorporates the important Japanese pop-culture principle of Kawaii (cuteness in the context of Japanese culture) and Japanese users enjoy interacting with LINE’s Kawaii interface. We report on our method of integrating LINE software into an international travel course and our evaluation of how students compare LINE’s Kawaii interface with the communication tools and social media tools that they are more familiar with. We also report on the extent to which the students believe that using LINE helped them understand Kawaii design. We also report on opportunities and barriers associated with cross-cultural adoption of social media platforms.