Chinese Social Media Platform Research Articles

A translanguaging perspective on multilingual identity construction of a native English teacher on a Chinese social media platform

A translanguaging perspective on multilingual identity construction of a native English teacher on a Chinese social media platform

A Girlfriend Gaze on Romantic Feelings: Coconstructing Postfeminist Selfhood on Douban

This article discusses how postfeminism plays into the exchange of romantic relationship advice between young women on the Chinese social media platform Douban. Employing Fairclough’s approach to critical discourse analysis, we elucidate how the process of giving and receiving romantic relationship advice facilitates the construction of a normative, postfeminist selfhood specific to China’s post-socialist transition. Under postfeminist aspirations for independence, self-empowerment, and personal success, this selfhood is constructed in social-mediated communication to offer an instrumentalist assessment of romantic relationships. In doing so, young Chinese women repudiate each other’s lovesickness, pathologizing romantic desires to achieve a false sense of emotional stability and mental strength. This gives rise to a girlfriend gaze on women’s emotional changes, establishing a self-/peer surveillance mechanism that regulates how members of the Douban community engage each other on the platform. While masked with a veneer of female empowerment and sisterly help, this mode of self-/peer surveillance not only perpetuates the stereotypical association of women with emotionality and irrationality but also marginalizes public discussions on structural gender inequalities, undermining collective efforts to challenge the patriarchal status quo. The research findings shed light on the functioning of neoliberal governance in contemporary China in the context of social-mediated communication.

The redefinition of a Chinese sports hero’s public image: evidence from the reactions on Chinese social media to Sun Yang’s international trial

This study traces the metamorphosis of Chinese Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang’s public image from a national sports hero to an ordinary individual on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. To explore the interplay between national identity construction and mediated discursive (de-)heroization of athletes, we employ discourse theories and a self-constructed corpus to analyze popular Weibo posts and follow-up comments during and after Sun Yang’s controversial international doping trial. The findings demonstrate the influential role of Chinese state-run media in shaping online public opinion, contrasting with Sun Yang’s less strategic self-presentation. Weibo discussions feature conflicting discourses, including xenophobic nationalism, anti-authority sentiments, and cosmopolitan liberal values. Initially prevalent nationalistic views diminish following criticism from a state newspaper, which emphasizes adherence to international rules. This case illustrates the challenge for elite athletes in balancing a patriotic image with a cosmopolitan identity as China seeks to increase global influence and support.

Exploring Strategies For Expanding The Xiaohongshu App In Malaysia And Singapore: A Study On Developing Chinese Social Media Overseas

This article discusses China's unique social media landscape, which is shaped by the country's culture, politics, and regulatory environment. Chinese social media platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu are deeply integrated and innovative, with features such as virtual red envelopes and mini-programs that significantly boost user engagement.However, expanding these platforms overseas presents challenges, such as cultural differences, regulatory environment, and competition. The article focuses on the case of Xiaohongshu (RED). It proposes strategies to improve customer loyalty and functionality in the context of e-commerce, utilizing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) as the theoretical framework.The article highlights the importance of understanding the cultural norms and preferences of the target audience, complying with local laws and regulations, and finding ways to differentiate Chinese social media platforms from established players in the market.

Depression Detection on Mandarin Text through Bert Model

Depression is currently one of the most prevalent mental disorders and its incidence has been rising significantly in Malaysia amid the Covid-19 pandemic. While previous studies have demonstrated the potential of artificial intelligence technology in analysing social media texts to detect signs of depression, most of these studies have focused on English textual content. Considering that Mandarin is the second most widely spoken language worldwide, it is worthwhile to explore depression detection techniques specifically tailored for Mandarin textual content. This research aims to examine the effectiveness of the BERT model in text classification, particularly for detecting depression in Mandarin. The study proposes the utilization of the BERT model to analyse social media posts related to depression. The model is trained using the WU3D dataset, which comprises a collection of over 2 million text data sourced from Sina Weibo, a prominent Chinese social media platform. Given the dataset's inherent imbalance, text augmentation techniques were employed to assess whether they contribute to improved model performance. The findings suggest that the BERT model trained on the original dataset outperformed the model trained on the augmented dataset. This implies that the BERT model is well-equipped to handle imbalanced datasets effectively. Furthermore, it is speculated that the augmented dataset did not introduce novel information or knowledge during the model training process. Notably, the highest-performing model achieved an impressive accuracy rate of 88% on the testing dataset.

Platformisation Practice for Emancipation or Subordination? A Multimodal Critical Discourse Study of Self-presentations of African-Chinese Families on Douyin

ABSTRACT In China, the rise in popularity of African-Chinese families is largely driven by the influence of new media, with many African women turning to Chinese social media platforms to document their daily lives and explore economic opportunities through increased online visibility. However, scholarly attention to the self-presentation of African-Chinese families on these platforms remains minimal. Addressing this gap, this study, through analysing 26 selected short videos posted on Douyin (Chinese Tiktok), employs multimodal critical discourse analysis to investigate how African women in African-Chinese families conduct self-presentations on Douyin. The study found that African women in African-Chinese families, when engaging in digital practices, employ certain discursive strategies to conduct self-presentations in alignment with the Chinese context and national conditions. In videos, they identify with and construct patriarchal norms within heteronormative families, align with China’s political agenda, and perform ambiguous feminism. It is argued that African women’s digital practices represent an acceptance and response to the platformisation of Chinese social media. This study sheds light on the complex ways in which marginalised groups navigate digital platforms to gain visibility, while also revealing the potential of such practices to reinforce gender inequalities in the Chinese context. By highlighting these factors, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between digital media, cultural integration, and gender politics in the context of contemporary China.

The COVID-19 vaccine on the short-video platform Kwai: A study of the emotions expressed in Brazilian content

In this article, we analysed the emotions expressed in response to COVID-19 vaccines on Kwai, a Chinese social-media platform launched in Brazil in 2019. Our corpus comprised 355 videos published between 2020 and 2022 and collected through a Python script. The emotions were identified and classified based on the emotion descriptors of the Human–Machine Interaction Network on Emotion for Emotion Annotation and Representation Language; an analysis of the levels of emotional valence and arousal was based on the core affect model. Considering the diversity of video content, we classified the posts according to their approach in order to identify those that expressed emotion, based on their predominant characteristic (personal, informative, infotainment, humorous or advertising). As a result, we observed that just over half of the emotions expressed in relation to the total set of data were positive. This positive attitude was emphasized when the vaccines were taken as the main topic mobilizing emotions. Expressions of contentment and trust stood out, especially among posts with a personal approach and advertising content. Among the negative emotions, disapproval and doubt stood out, mobilized by topics in relation to the vaccines and other contextual elements, especially in videos with a humorous, informative or infotainment approach.

Fighting as a SOLDIER or Guilty as a SINNER? Metaphorical Insights into Early Career Researchers in Chinese Social Media Platform Little Red Book

Fighting as a SOLDIER or Guilty as a SINNER? Metaphorical Insights into Early Career Researchers in Chinese Social Media Platform Little Red Book

‘Living-alone’ wanghong: Women’s singleness as a wanghong genre and the configuration of Chinese postfeminist wanghong culture

In this article, I explore how women’s singleness is represented by ‘living-alone’ wanghong on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小红书) and discuss the configuration of Chinese postfeminist wanghong culture. The term ‘“living-alone” wanghong’ refers to a group of Chinese vloggers – mostly women – who showcase their daily lives in domestic spaces while living by themselves. ‘Living-alone’ wanghong narrate their singleness as an autonomous choice that leads to a happy, high-quality, and bourgeois life. This narrative is distinct from the stigmatised ‘ shengnü’ (剩女, leftover women) discourse in contemporary urban China. By conducting thematic analysis of 50 sampled ‘living-alone’ vlogs featuring female wanghong, I examine three recurring themes: economic independence; self-care/self-discipline; and enjoyable loneliness. The analysis contextualises these three tropes in the postfeminist wanghong culture on Chinese social media. I argue that while ‘living-alone’ wanghong productively challenge stigmas around single women in the context of urban China, they ultimately transform women’s singleness into a neoliberal and postfeminist object in feminised consumer culture. Within their narratives, the structural struggles that single women face become issues that can and should be resolved by individual women. This transformation overshadows the underlying logic of consumption/commercialisation within Chinese postfeminist wanghong culture. This article further discusses the importance of the intersectional gender dimension in wanghong studies, as evidenced by the case study of ‘living-alone’ wanghong.

Why is KOL (Key Opinion Leader) Advertising on Social Media more Effective at Attracting Consumers than Official Brand Accounts?-Exploring Lancmes Promotion on Chinese Platform RED

In the context of the flourishing digital market, effectively utilizing social media for advertising has become one of the primary concerns for brands. This article aims to investigate the reasons why advertising campaigns by KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) on Chinese social media platforms garner more attention from consumers compared to official brand accounts. This research employs a case study and interview methodology. The first set of data presents the advertising content and responses of both Lancme's official account and KOL accounts on the Chinese social media platform, Xiaohongshu (RED). The second set of data showcases the interview results from five recruited participants on RED. Each participant was asked to assess their attitudes towards different forms of product promotion. The results indicate that KOLs' posts on RED offer a more relatable and curiosity-inducing perspective by sharing product experiences in everyday life scenarios. This approach resonates with users and brings the promotion closer to consumers. In contrast, the content strategy of official brand accounts tends to focus more on product features, which increases the perceived distance from consumers. Furthermore, interaction data and user feedback from KOL accounts reveal that users are more inclined to trust and reference the authentic usage experiences of fellow consumers rather than official product descriptions. These findings elucidate the practical impact of official brand accounts versus KOL accounts in social media advertising, highlighting the unique value of KOL advertising. Our research is poised to inspire brands to reconsider their social media advertising strategies, potentially bringing forth greater appeal and competitive advantage for the brands.

A Study of LGBTQ+ Empowerment and Normative Dialogue in Chinese Social Media Platforms

A Study of LGBTQ+ Empowerment and Normative Dialogue in Chinese Social Media Platforms

Emotional labour in comforting strangers on social media

AbstractEmotional support on social media has become a popular way for people to seek comfort when facing failures and frustrations. This paper investigates the social practice of comforting strangers on the Chinese social media platform Douban. The emotional labour framework was adopted to examine the ways in which the comforting practice managed the emotions of both the comfortee and the comforter. A dataset of 400 replies was collected from Douban to analyse the use of comforting strategies and whether the conversation topic influenced their use. The study showed that comforters employed various strategies to manage distressed others’ emotions and their own emotions. The results showed a dichotomy between explicit and implicit comfort in managing comfortee emotions. Three types of replies for managing the comforter's emotions were observed, namely, a concealed reply, a projective reply, and a comparative reply. The study also revealed a correlation between conversation topics and the use of these replies.

Social Media Attention to Geopolitical Conflicts - An Analysis of Weibo Users' Comments on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

In the globalized information age, social media has become a primary channel for news and information dissemination, particularly during geopolitical conflicts. This study investigates public sentiment and discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Utilizing content analysis, the researcher conducted sentiment statistics and word frequency analysis on Weibo comments to understand Chinese public attitudes toward this conflict. The research reveals a significant increase in negative emotions from 33.33% in October 2023 to 100% in April 2024, indicating growing public discontent and concern as the conflict intensified. Concurrently, positive emotions sharply declined from 47.62% to 0%, reflecting diminished hopes for a peaceful resolution. Neutral sentiments also fluctuated, initially at 19.05%, dropping to 0% by April 2024. Additionally, the study identifies a shift in keyword usage from "world peace" and "hope" to specific entities like "Israel" and "Hamas," and terms like "disaster." This highlights a change in public and media focus from peace initiatives to the humanitarian impact of the conflict. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for promoting a more inclusive gaming environment, challenging existing gender stereotypes, and fostering social stability. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of Chinese public opinion on international geopolitical issues and underscores the importance of social media in shaping public discourse.

Prosocial development in early childhood: strategies of teachers and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic in China

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for people, including young children. This study focuses on how teachers and parents foster children’s prosocial behaviours during online learning amidst the pandemic. Data were sourced from 100 articles on WeChat Official Service/Subscription Accounts (WOSA) – a popular Chinese social media platform – and from semi-structured interviews with three teachers and six parents, analyzed using content and reflexive thematic analysis methods, respectively. The key findings reveal that children demonstrated increased pandemic-related prosocial behaviours, as a result of specific strategies implemented by both parents and teachers within their sociocultural environment. These findings emphasize the importance of digital platforms and the collaborative practices of teachers and parents in supporting children’s social development during a social crisis, offering insights for shaping educational policies and practices. Future research could explore the long-term impact of pandemic-relevant practices by teachers and parents on children’s well-being across diverse cultural contexts.

When content moderation is not about content: How Chinese social media platforms moderate content and why it matters

When content moderation is not about content: How Chinese social media platforms moderate content and why it matters

Analysis of ZARA's Social Media Marketing Strategy in China

The rapid iteration of the fashion industry and the influx of numerous niche emerging fast fashion brands into the market have driven continuous innovation in social media marketing strategies, with new promotional methods constantly emerging. This article, utilizing literature analysis and observational methods, examines ZARA's social media marketing strategy in China. This analysis is beneficial for companies in the fast fashion industry, particularly those looking to expand their influence in the Chinese market. After a detailed analysis of the characteristics and marketing methods of Chinese social media platforms, the impact of external factors on Chinese consumers, and ZARA's social media presence, the article provides detailed recommendations for social media marketing strategies. ZARA, as a pioneer in the fast fashion industry, has established a certain market presence on Chinese social media platforms. However, its promotional strategy still shows potential for improvement. On platforms like Weibo and Little Red Book, ZARA's content strategy lacks specificity and diversity. In contrast, its live streaming marketing on platforms like TikTok demonstrates excellent visual effects and interactivity. This article provides several specific recommendations for ZARA's social media marketing strategy in China, such as strengthening brand storytelling and product showcases on Little Red Book, hiring celebrity endorsements, and regularly hosting styling challenges on TikTok. In summary, by implementing these strategies, ZARA is poised to achieve more effective brand building and market expansion in China's social media landscape.

Digital technology and mental health: Chinese university students' perspectives on the impact of social media.

To address the growing concerns about mental health issues among Chinese university students, our study investigates the impact of social media on their mental health. This study intends to shed light on how these students' use of social media platforms contributes to these mental health issues, given that it has been estimated that up to 30% of university students in China suffer from mental health issues. We investigate the extent of this issue by looking at how Chinese social media platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and QQ impact students' mental health. To gain a comprehensive insight into students' perspectives, this study's sole methodology is qualitative semi-structured interviews. Our core claim asserts that social media considerably affects Chinese university students' mental health, with both positive and negative consequences. The findings show how closely social media use and Chinese university students' mental health are related. These networks let people connect and get support but also encourage social comparison and stigma towards mental illness. Students use a variety of coping skills, such as self-regulation techniques, digital detoxification techniques, and looking for emotional support in online networks. These results highlight the need for a complex understanding of social media's effects on mental health. Our study also recognizes students' capacity for adaptation and resilience as they traverse the digital world, offering theoretical and practical applications for successfully juggling online and offline lives. In the end, our study contributes to a thorough and culturally sensitive understanding of how social media affects the mental health of Chinese university students.

Social Media Users’ Visual and Emotional Preferences of Internet-Famous Sites in Urban Riverfront Public Spaces: A Case Study in Changsha, China

With the increasing online exposure of urban public spaces, the new concept of “internet-famous sites” has emerged in China. Social media users are the main contributors to this new phenomenon. To fully understand social media users’ preferences in such kinds of public spaces, this article took 27 typical riverfront internet-famous sites (RIFSs) in Changsha City (China) as an example. Through social media platform selection, keyword research, text and image data extraction, visual and emotional symbol coding, and manual calculations of coding frequency, this study investigated social media users’ perception of RIFSs, especially on visual and emotional preferences. The online images and review comments were extracted from the popular Chinese social media platform “Xiaohongshu”. We found that (1) the popularity of each RIFS had a significant head effect and there were far more positive emotions than neutral and negative emotions in review comments. (2) RIFSs in Changsha were divided into five categories: commercial RIFSs, art exhibition RIFSs, historical and cultural RIFSs, ecological recreational RIFSs, and uncultivated RIFSs. Social media users had different visual focuses on each kind of RIFS. (3) Social media users provided specific reasons for their emotional preferences towards different types of RIFSs. This study can provide a new perspective on improving waterfront vitality and offer a targeted and attractive method for waterfront regeneration that is different from traditional methods.

Contextual information needs of people in life transitions struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Introduction. Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a severe chronic mental health issue that significantly impacts people’s everyday lives. This study aims to reveal the contextual information needs of the people living with OCD during life transitions and how these needs dynamically evolve across various transitional stages. Method. The study collected 1,500 posts from an OCD online forum of a well-known Chinese social media platform, Douban. A subsequent content analysis was performed on 324 selected valid posts. Analysis. Guiding by the information behaviour theory of transitions, two rounds of open-coding analyses were conducted on the posts. Results. Preliminary findings indicate that people with OCD have various types of contextual information needs during different transitional stages, namely understanding, negotiating, and resolving, suggested by the existing theory. Conclusion. Information needs are context-specific, complex and continuously changing during life transitions of people with OCD. Our conclusion can provide theoretical insights for future research exploring the dynamic information needs during the mental health transitions. Additionally, it serves as a preliminary conceptual framework for various stakeholders to offer informational support to people with OCD.

Oppression and Females’ Defending in the Devil Wears Prada

Although the film industry has improved in terms of portraying female characters since the 1960s, there are still issues visible to the public, and one is the hidden objectification of females in supposedly feminist movies. Another popular opinion recently, especially on Chinese social media platforms, is that fashion acts as a tool of the patriarchy to force the male gaze onto women. However, this paper intends to discuss how the fashion industry acts as a non-patriarchal field that provides opportunities for females in terms of improving themselves. The movie, The Devil Wears Prada, will be analyzed as an example to explain how the fashion industry, in this movie, does not consist of the male gaze and propels the main character’s growth. The approaches used in this paper are Laura Mulvey’s gaze theory and analyzing specific scenes in the movie, The Devil Wears Prada. The scenes will be analyzed using the apparatus theory in films, explaining how the different types of shots influence the message conveyed in the movie. In conclusion, this paper reveals that even a feminist film like The Devil Wears Prada contains various circumstances of the male gaze; however, these circumstances of the male gaze influencing women do not appear because of the fashion industry, and consequently, the fashion industry should not be disapproved as a source of the male gaze, as it provides opportunities for women to improve themselves in terms of their career and wellbeing.