FOCMO: Fear of China Missing Out.
There has been a great deal of mystery for some time shrouding the use of the internet, and further the use of social media in China. People like us, hailing from the Western World have always assumed that people in China are severely missing out on activities which we are able to do so freely. Although in some ways this statement is accurate on a broad scale in relation to censorship issues in China, when it comes to Social Network Sites, China has been able to deliver some highly popular alternatives.
The Chinese Government has allowed the use of sanctioned social networking sites that can only be accessed within China, allowing users to connect internally and appeasing some dissatisfaction in regards to people’s abilities to network. Crampton (2011) says that for people in China, connecting with other Chinese people is a top priority, access to the internet and social networks has opened up a stream of information to people that has been unimaginable for quite some time.
The monopolisation of state-approved social networking sites all but guarantees their popularity, given China’s massive population and yearn for information; we can start to see that perhaps our understanding of their social media landscape was ill informed.
“Numerous factors help drive Chinese, more than other populations, to engage in social media. These include rural-to-urban migration that has separated families, the loneliness of the one-child generation, and a distrust of information from government-controlled media.” (Crampton, 2011)
Most studies have found that people in China, almost spend more time on the internet than other countries with similar populations. Linkfluence reports that “With 91% of internet users frequently using social media, (against 67% in the US), Asia presents an unmissable opportunity for digitalised brands…” Linkfluence are an organisation with offices in China and Singapore who offer services to businesses stipulating they enable them valuable insight into how they can breach this previously impenetrable market space.
The illusion and veil that surrounds the internet and social media use in China really demonstrates the success of the regime that is being enacted by the Government in China. One of the most well-known blockages of information to Westerners is China’s incapability to view information on the pro-independence activism that took place in Tibet in 2008. Tibet was invaded by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in 1950, the act was called the liberation of Tibet and Tibetans have tried to combat the repression of the Chinese ever since the initial invasion. It is particularly important for the Chinese Government to maintain the belief in their own people that Tibet is happily under Chinese rule, just like everyone else.
“To Americans and other Westerners, it might seem odd that Internet censorship is still possible at a time when YouTube, satellite TV and online chat rooms produce an overwhelming flow of real-time news and data. Yet authoritarian regimes from Cuba to Saudi Arabia to Pakistan rely on a mix of sophisticated technology and old-fashioned intimidation to ensure that dissent can be repressed, even in the Information Age.” (Wiseman, n.d)
To look at the broad issue of censorship in China would require much more time and would far exceed the word count than this blog could afford. In talking positively about the Chinese availability of their own social networking sites we are not diminishing the larger issues at hand, merely recognising that things are different than in our own Western world.
References & Bibliography
Chiu, C, Lin, D & Silverman, A 2012, China's social-media boom, McKinsey & Company, viewed 3 February 2017, <http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/chinas_social-media_boom>.
Crampton, T 2011, 'Social media in China: The same, but differen't, China Business Review, Vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 28-31, viewed 3 February 2017, <http://www.thomascrampton.com/china/social-media-china-business-review/>.
CNN, 2012, "Timeline of Tibetan protests in China", viewed 3 February, 2017, <http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/31/world/asia/tibet-protests-timeline/>.
DLDconference 2013, DLD13 - How Social Media is changing China and Asia, 7 February, viewed 3 August 2016, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG3z2ucaR6A>.
Forsythe, M 2017, "China Clamps Down on Online News Reporting", Nytimes.com, viewed 3 February, 2017, <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/world/asia/china-media-sina-sohu-netease-phoenix.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FInternet%20Censorship%20in%20China&action=click&contentCollection=world®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection&_r=0>.
Freetibet.org 2017, "Tibet's history | Free Tibet", Freetibet.org, viewed 3 February, 2017, <https://freetibet.org/about/history>.
Linkfluence, 2016, Top 10 Chinese Social Media, viewed 3 February, 2017, <http://linkfluence.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/top-10-chinese-social-media.2-2.png>.
Greatfirewallofchina 2014, viewed 3 August 2016, <http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/>.
Simon, D 2017, "China’s scary lesson to the world: Censoring the Internet works", Washington Post, viewed 3 February, 2017, <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-scary-lesson-to-the-world-censoring-the-internet-works/2016/05/23/413afe78-fff3-11e5-8bb1-f124a43f84dc_story.html>.
The Great Firewall of China 2013, Open Democracy viewed 3 February 2017, <https://www.opendemocracy.net/china-correspondent/great-firewall-of-china>.
WISEMAN, P 2017, "'Hacktivists' Fight China's Web Censors", ABC News, viewed 3 February, 2017, <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4707107&page=1>.
