Mapping Knowledge Domains of Digital Labor Research: Current Status, Hotspot and Frontier

Abstract

With the rapid development of digital technology, the mode of production has been transformed into digitalization, virtualization and technologization. The labor has been changed from the real world to the virtual digital world, and digital labor has become an important part of the labor form in modern society. According to bibliometrics and Mapping Knowledge Domains, this study aims to reveal the research status, hot spots and future development trends in the field of digital labor. Based on this, this study takes the relevant core literature from 1990-2023 includes Web of Science Core Collection and Chinese CNKI as the database, and uses CiteSpace visualization software to conduct comparative analysis. The results of this study show that: the number of publications on digital labor in China is lagging behind that of the international community; the research on digital labor in China started late, and the influence of the literature is weaker than that of the international community; the growth rate of relevant literature in Chinese is faster, and the distribution of disciplines is concentrated, while the literature in English is increasing year by year and is relatively stable, and the distribution of disciplines is wide; there is a partial overlap between Chinese and international digital labor research hotspots, with digital labor being studied under the perspectives of computer science, communication studies, education, and so on; Chinese research still focuses on general theoretical discussions, while international research has been widely conducted in the fields of social media, deep learning, digital labor education, artificial intelligence, computer science and information systems. This study not only provides a theoretical perspective for understanding the interaction between digital technologies and labor, but also offers new perspectives for future research and labor education to address the challenges of digital transformation.