China - Social Media Boom
mainstream social media sites banned in China : still the worlds most active social media country. (Chiu, Lin & Silverman, 2012)
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all banned in China, yet it is the most active social media country.. doesn't sound right does it? Those three social media channels are up there with the most popular so it is strange to think that China still use more social media than the rest of us.
I didn't know much about the banning of specific social media sites overseas, but through research and university I became more aware of what is happening in China. Yes three really popular sites are banned but there is always ways around it - and there are also substitutes in China that are the equivalent to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
I guess my main reason is why? Why does China need to police the way people use the internet. Why do they need to create their own social media sites - what if users want to communicate with people outside of China?.
I realise that a lot of the substitute websites in China are actually more user friendly for the language barriers and so on.. but I still don't believe that other sites should be banned from the country.
Chiu, Lin, & Silverman, 2012, China's social-media boom, McKinsey & Company
