Community media in China: Communication, digitalization, and relocation

Abstract

China ranks the first in the world in terms of Internet users, but in contrast to the superficial prosperity, the trend of ‘fast and easy consumption’ is popular among Chinese Internet users. This paper identifies the communication grey zones in China, and defines it as a three-dimensional concept. Researchers suggest that the information grey zones influences people's life, self-development, and even the social development; and this is closely related to the decline of local communities in China, which is a by-product of modernization. This paper suggests that community media help with rebuilding communities, and cleaning up communication grey zones.