The Oxford Handbook of Digital Media Sociology by Rohlinger Deana A.;Sobieraj Sarah;

Author:Rohlinger, Deana A.;Sobieraj, Sarah;
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

Facework on Social Media in China

Xiaoli Tian and Qian Li

Goffman (1955, 213; 1956) defined “face” as “an image of self, delineated in terms of approved social attributes.” Face is a universal phenomenon across cultural contexts. However, sociologists and anthropologists suggest that face plays an even more central role in Chinese interactions (Hsu 1996). Chinese people are particularly motivated to do facework during social interactions; that is, protect their own face and avoid discrediting the face of others. Unlike Western cultures where individuals tend to form a “core self” and can therefore more easily remove themselves from their roles, the “self” and its dignity in China are validated based on not only one’s role but also the evaluation of others (Fei 1992).

This brings about a fascinating question in modern times: What does facework look like in online social spaces? In recent decades, many social interactions have moved online, especially in China. By the end of January 2020, there were 1.04 billion active social media users in China, which makes 72% of its population (We Are Social and Hootsuite 2020). As of December 2019, the most popular social media site in China, WeChat, reported 1.16 billion active users every month1 (Tencent 2020); and another popular social media site, Weibo, saw 516 million active monthly users (Sina 2020).

Given these statistics, social media are compelling sites for studying facework, other interpersonal interactions, and the presentation of the self in online settings. Furthermore, social media usually involve interacting with physically invisible others. Without a corporeal co-presence, interactants are ignorant of exactly who reads what and when they read it, especially where they are engaging in asynchronous interactions with disembodied others (Zhao 2005). So the question deepens: How does the existence of “undetectable others” influence self-presentation and interaction on social media? Without a physical co-presence, will Chinese users consider facework less important?

In this chapter, we review the literature on the importance of face and facework in Chinese interpersonal interactions online. Specifically, we discuss the extent to which and the reasons why face is more salient in the Chinese context; explain the characteristics of major Chinese social media sites, such as Weibo and WeChat; and elaborate upon how their attributes influence the way people interact and present themselves online. We use empirical cases to discuss how Chinese users protect their own face and give face to others, as well as how they avoid discrediting the face of others on social media. This is followed by a discussion of the conditions under which there is less emphasis on face, when compared to offline social contexts, as well as a review of the different methods used to study facework online, offline, and cross-nationally. We conclude with a brief discussion of how sociological research has contributed to the study of social media in China and directions for future research.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.