Location
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
Event Website
https://hicss.hawaii.edu/
Start Date
7-1-2025 12:00 AM
End Date
10-1-2025 12:00 AM
Description
This qualitative study examines how Chinese college students change their social media practices over time. Employing a three-dimensional theoretical framework of cultural affordances, this study involved ten semi-structured interviews, follow-up discussions, observations, and a voluntary post-survey, with data analysis following the grounded theory approach. The findings highlight five changes in Chinese college students with a focus on WeChat over time, including transitioning from QQ to WeChat, spending more time on WeChat, providing faster responses while avoiding voice messaging, utilizing multiple social media platforms for self-presentation, and relying more on WeChat over people to complete daily tasks. The study provides a detailed description of how each change as a process unfolded by focusing on the initial and intermediate stages. It identifies key factors driving each change with a more specific and contextually relevant approach. These factors demonstrate the intricate interplay between technology, users, and culture.
Recommended Citation
Sun, Yinan and Suthers, Dan, "Evolution of Social Media Usage: A Study of Chinese College Students on WeChat" (2025). Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2025 (HICSS-58). 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/dsm/culture/6
Evolution of Social Media Usage: A Study of Chinese College Students on WeChat
Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii
This qualitative study examines how Chinese college students change their social media practices over time. Employing a three-dimensional theoretical framework of cultural affordances, this study involved ten semi-structured interviews, follow-up discussions, observations, and a voluntary post-survey, with data analysis following the grounded theory approach. The findings highlight five changes in Chinese college students with a focus on WeChat over time, including transitioning from QQ to WeChat, spending more time on WeChat, providing faster responses while avoiding voice messaging, utilizing multiple social media platforms for self-presentation, and relying more on WeChat over people to complete daily tasks. The study provides a detailed description of how each change as a process unfolded by focusing on the initial and intermediate stages. It identifies key factors driving each change with a more specific and contextually relevant approach. These factors demonstrate the intricate interplay between technology, users, and culture.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-58/dsm/culture/6