Abstract
As one of the most popular social networking applications in China, WeChat has recently attracted scholarly attention. To date, these studies have tended to concentrate on how it has been used as a social networking and emerging business model. However, little is known about the practices users follow when selecting usernames on WeChat. Using an onomastic lens, this study addresses this gap by examining 501 WeChat usernames. With data collected through an online survey, this study first investigates categories emerging from the name corpus and explores the reasons behind each of these categories. It then analyzes the sociocultural ramifications embedded within this use of names. As one of the first of its kind, the article provides key insight into how the interplay of online discourse, acquaintance networks, and Chinese culture contribute to the development of this important onomastic phenomenon.
Highlights
The mobile instant messaging platform, WeChat, was launched by Tencent Inc. in 2011
Little is known about the practices users follow when selecting usernames on WeChat. This study addresses this gap by examining 501 WeChat usernames
The three main research questions anchoring this study are the following: (1) what categories of WeChat usernames emerge from the survey corpus?; (2) what reasons contribute to the users’ choice of a particular onomastic category?; and (3) what are the potential sociocultural ramifications of these naming practices? To answer these three questions, an online survey was administered for data collection
Summary
The mobile instant messaging platform, WeChat, was launched by Tencent Inc. in 2011. Since it has dominated the market in China as an innovative multi-functional social media application (Guo 2017). WeChat has aimed at limited person-to-small-group communication, thereby drawing the Chinese away from mass-oriented online discourse to community-based group cohesion and local mobilization (Harwit 2017). This onestop application, with its superior user friendliness, has proven to be a major success. Scrutinizing the adoption and use of WeChat among middle-aged residents in urban China, Huang and Zhang (2017) added to the body of literature by identifying communicative patterns that varied across gender and age groups
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