Internet Celebrities Bodies/Emotions in China’s Society 4.0

Abstract

Internet celebrities, as a group of stars spawned by the market economy and The Internet, reveal both the state of Internet culture and the transformation of mass media in China. The bodies and pictures of these ‘celebs’, while unique, also take on a cultural symbolism. The 4.0 Revolution is the carrier of social practices and kinds of interaction in which the social media play a very special role. In this paper we will focus on the intersections and ruptures between the bodyindividual, body-subjective and body-social (Scribano, 2007) of Chinese Internet celebrities and the articulations and links between body-image and their body-in-movement. With the introduction ofChinese social media platforms such as WeChat (微信), Sina Weibo (新浪微博), Douyin, we try to trace links between the sociability, experiences and social sensibilities of the Internet celebrities and their influence on Society 4.0. This paper: (a) looks at the Chinese social media as a virtual platform for the Internet celebrities; (b) delves into the images and practices of the Internet celebrities; (c) highlights the link between body, sensation and perception regarding social celebrities; (d) shows the kinds of sociability and social sensibilities exhibited by celebrities in China’s Society 4.0. home foreclosure) in several Catalan municipalities. It was conducted by participatory observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews with activists.