Reclaiming the Periphery in the Age of Social Media: Power and Narrative of Rural China in My People, My Homeland (2020) and Coffee or Tea? (2020)

Article Communication

What is Zimeiti? The commercial logic of content provision on China's social media platforms

Kecheng Fang

Summary: Zimeiti, or we media, is a buzzword in China referring to non-institutional content providers on social media platforms monetizing user attention. To legitimize the industry, the community adopts depoliticization strategies emphasizing market mechanisms. The findings shed light on China's restricted yet highly commercialized online content ecosystem.

CHINESE JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION (2022)

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Article Communication

Selling Poverty on Kuaishou: How entrepreneurialism disciplines Chinese underclass online participation

Jiaxi Hou et al.

Summary: The meanings of being underclass in China become increasingly complex when disadvantaged social groups gain access to digital platforms. This study examines how digital entrepreneurialism in platforms like Kuaishou discipline the underclass' online participation and representation, while also exploiting them and perpetuating inequalities.

GLOBAL MEDIA AND CHINA (2022)

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Article Communication

Smartphone photography and its socio-economic life in China: An ethnographic analysis

Yunchang Yang

Summary: Smartphone photography has become an integral part of people's lives, offering insights into the relationships between sociality, aesthetics, and identity. By studying the practices of smartphone photography, we can reveal the specific norms of different places and individuals, as well as their impact on social and economic life.

GLOBAL MEDIA AND CHINA (2021)

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Article Area Studies