[Commlist] New book: Chinese Social Media: Face, Sociality and Civility

New book publication: *Chinese Social Media: Face, Sociality and 
Civility, by Shuhan Chen and Peter Lunt (Emerald 2021)*

*Description:*

What role does social media play in the lives of Chinese youths as they 
adapt to the rapid economic and social changes in modern China? This 
book examines the social media experiences and practices of young middle 
class Chinese who moved to Beijing to study and with the hope of work 
and participation in the possibilities of social and professional life. 
Through an analysis of their use of WeChat we explore their enthusiasm 
for self-expression online, their mediated social relations (guanxi) 
with family, friends, classmates and colleagues and their engagement 
with questions of online civility.

The authors argue that sustaining personal and social relationships in 
the context of China’s modernity, including its soft regulation of 
internet and social media, demands new norms of positivity and online 
civility. This is framed by several tensions: between emerging 
opportunities for freedom of expression and long-standing traditions of 
social identity and reputation such as face (lian and mianzi); between 
traditional obligations to parents (xiaoshun) and the desire for 
personal autonomy; and the pressure to constitute and govern the 
internet as a space of positive energy and civility in support of 
national Chinese sovereignty.

The social media practices and deliberations of the participants reveal 
a fascinating amalgam of traditional Chinese culture and philosophy and 
reflections on tradition and collectivism combined with an embrace of 
Western-influenced ideas of positive psychology, self-expression, social 
networks and pragmatic social relations.

*Contents:*

Chapter 1. China’s Compressed Modernization and Development of Digital 
and Social media

Chapter 2. Social interaction, self-presentation and face in Chinese and 
West European Contexts

Chapter 3. Individualization, Self-expression and Face

Chapter 4. Mediated Family Relations at a Distance

Chapter 5. Online sociality in friend circles: Guanxi and Renqing

Chapter 6. The New Moral Duty: Spreading Positive Energy Online

Chapter 7. Conclusions

Jacket Image

*Shuhan Chen* is an emerging digital media and culture researcher 
working at the University of Sheffield, UK. Her research interests 
explore the links between digital media and social theories, cultural 
differences, and online communication.

*Peter Lunt* is Professor of Media and Communication at the University 
of Leicester, UK. His research interests include audience research, 
social theory, and media regulation.

*Available from*: 
https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Chinese-Social-Media/?k=9781839091360 

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