The influence of self-construal and materialism on social media intensity: a study of China and the United States Shu-Chuan Chu a *, Kasey Windels b and Sara Kamal c a College of Communication, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA; b Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; c Advertising Researcher, Dubai, UAE (Received 3 April 2013; accepted 28 June 2015) This study investigated the potential influence of self-construal and materialism on intensity of usage for three social media platforms: social networking sites (SNSs), microblogging sites (MBSs), and video sharing sites (VSSs). Data were collected from China and the United States À two countries with the highest advertising expenditures and Internet populations. Drawing from the social comparison theory (SCT) and the framework of independent and interdependent self-construal, results of the hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that both independent and interdependent self-construal were positively related to SNS intensity among Chinese and American users. However, interdependent self-construal had a significant, negative relationship with the intensity of MBS use among users in the two countries. Materialism was found to positively relate to SNS intensity, MBS intensity, and VSS intensity among Chinese and American users. These results provide evidence that self-construal and materialism contribute to social media use independent of nationality. Theoretical and managerial implications for international advertising strategies are discussed. Keywords: social comparison; self-construal; social media intensity; materialism; China Introduction According to eMarketer (2014), advertisers will spend $73 billion in China in 2015, behind only the US $189.06 billion in total advertising media spending. Meanwhile, China represents the largest Internet population worldwide, with 642 million users (Internet World Stats 2014). Social media, in particular, have enjoyed enormous growth in China. Yet the notion of social media may take on a localized form, reflecting the unique values of the culture. For example, the leading social networking sites (SNSs) in China, such as Renren, Kaixin001, and 51.com, top the list in their respective segment groups: college students, young professionals, and rural consumers (MacManus 2010). While previous studies on social media have investigated such topics as uses and gratifications, identity construction, and consumer activities (e.g., Heinonen 2011; Quan-Haase and Young 2010), most have mainly focused on a single platform and West- ern countries. What remains unknown is how individual factors, such as materialism or an independent or interdependent self-construal, influence social media usage across different platforms such as social networking (e.g., Facebook in the USA vs. Renren in China), microblogging (e.g., Twitter in the USA vs. Sina Weibo in China) and video *Corresponding author. Email: schu7@depaul.edu Ó 2015 Advertising Association International Journal of Advertising, 2016 Vol. 35, No. 3, 569À588, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2015.1068425