In recent years, microblogging has gained enormous popularity in China, especially among urban professional workers. This phenomenological study investigates how white-collar workers in China... Show More

In recent years, microblogging has gained enormous popularity in China, especially among urban professional workers. This phenomenological study investigates how white-collar workers in China experience microblogging and how they perceive the impact of microblogging on their lives. Twenty in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted in Beijing and Qingdao with young white-collar professionals who are active users of Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo. The analysis revealed that by engaging in microblogging activities workers can increase their social capital. In addition, the results suggested that through microblogs white-collar professional users can not only increase their social capital at the individual level but also enhance it at the collective level. The authors conclude that information sharing and social interaction enabled through microblogging platforms empower Chinese white-collar workers and strengthen their social capital.

Almost half of China's 564 million netizens are using social networking websites (SNSs). Based on the growing popularity of native SNSs, this study aims to examine whether the younger generation... Show More

Almost half of China's 564 million netizens are using social networking websites (SNSs). Based on the growing popularity of native SNSs, this study aims to examine whether the younger generation feels more actively engaged in civic and political activities. A survey of 471 Chinese college students in Mainland China explored the effects of SNS use on political efficacy and civic engagement. Among the four identified gratifications of SNS use, social connection significantly predicted internal political efficacy and political voice. Entertainment negatively predicted both external political efficacy and political voice, while information seeking had no influence on either political efficacy or civic engagement. SNS network size emerged as a positive predictor of civic engagement, including electoral activities and political voice. Intensity of SNS use had no significant effect on any of the political outcomes. The results of the study shed light on the role of SNSs in the democratization of Chinese society.

This article considers the phenomenon of online body display by users of social networking sites in Hong Kong. A survey of 392 young adults was conducted to investigate the relationships between... Show More

This article considers the phenomenon of online body display by users of social networking sites in Hong Kong. A survey of 392 young adults was conducted to investigate the relationships between narcissism, grandiose exhibitionism, body image satisfaction, perceived privacy risks, and online body display. A Body Display Index was developed to measure the perceived level of sexual explicitness of photographs shared by Facebook users. Grandiose exhibitionism, a sub-trait of narcissism, was found to be a stronger predictor of online body display than narcissism. The relationship between body image satisfaction and online body display was not significant, and no relationship was found between such displays and perceived privacy risks, thus implying a lack of social media-related privacy concerns among the respondents.

The present study compared American and Japanese user practices on social networking sites (SNSs). Analysis focused on self-presentation such as posting party and drinking pictures on SNSs. A total... Show More

The present study compared American and Japanese user practices on social networking sites (SNSs). Analysis focused on self-presentation such as posting party and drinking pictures on SNSs. A total of 1,079 college students (583 American and 496 Japanese) participated in the survey, which provided the basis for analysis. The results of the study demonstrate cultural and SNS platform differences in self-presentation on SNSs. After controlling for preexisting conditions (gender, extraversion, offline popularity, and the length of membership with the SNS), Japanese Facebook users posted party and drinking pictures most frequently, followed by Japanese Mixi users and American Facebook users. In addition, the study found that Japanese dual-users changed their behavior according to the SNS. The implications and the underlying mechanism of Japanese users' behavioral switching on SNSs are discussed.

The world's largest democracy with a population of over 1.27 billion people, India is home to a burgeoning media landscape that encompasses a motley mix of traditional and contemporary media.... Show More

The world's largest democracy with a population of over 1.27 billion people, India is home to a burgeoning media landscape that encompasses a motley mix of traditional and contemporary media. Drawing from the theoretical framework of the networked public sphere, this extensive case study focuses on the role of social media in India's media landscape. Results indicate that new social media entities complement traditional media forms to inform, educate, connect, and entertain people from diverse social, ethnic, religious, and cultural origins. The author concludes that social media enable Indian citizens to actively deliberate issues and ideas, increase their civic engagement and citizen participation, and thus enrich India's democratic society.