Characteristics and social impact of the use of social media by Chinese Dama

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• 作者：Qin Li ; ^{liqincn@ruc.edu.cn}
• 关键词：Chinese Dama ; Social media ; Social change ; Discourse power ; Digital divide ; Life style
• 刊名：Telematics and Informatics
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：June 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：34
• 期：3
• 页码：797-810
• 全文大小：379 K
• 卷排序：34

文摘

Against the backdrop of broader social changes, social media has developed rapidly in China, which has pushed the transition of the media environment from a traditional authority-dominated one to a modern media society. In particular, the use of social media by Chinese Dama can be perceived as an exemplar of media-driven social change. ‘Chinese Dama’ is a buzzword coined in tandem with the development of social media since 2013. This term represents a particular group of middle-aged Chinese women who reflect a distinctive social phenomenon in China. It is noteworthy that a growing number of Chinese Dama are learning to use social media and have established thousands of social media communities, exerting significant influence on the wider media and social environment. This study focuses on the major changes undergone by Dama, transitioning from being passively covered by media to becoming active users of social media, and this research analyzes the motivations and hallmarks of their social media activity. Although the use of social media by Chinese Dama, the traditional nucleus of Chinese society, has contributed to narrowing the digital divide and resulted in the Dama’s gaining more discourse power and ushered in new diverse lifestyles, we argue that the Dama also exert a far-reaching positive and negative influence on society, pushing for the modernization transformation of the Chinese society.