Social Media Generation in Urban China: A Study of Social Media Use and Addiction among Adolescents

160 Pages·2014·1.23 MB·English

by  Hanyun Huang (auth.)

Understanding China
Hanyun Huang
Social Media
Generation in
Urban China
A Study of Social Media Use and
Addiction among Adolescents
Understanding China
Series Editors
Emmie Yang
Business, Economics China, Springer-Verlag Asia
Beijing, China, People’s Republic
Niels Peter Thomas
Heidelberg, Germany
For further volumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/11772

Hanyun Huang
Social Media Generation
in Urban China
A Study of Social Media Use and Addiction
among Adolescents
Dr. Hanyun Huang
School of Journalism and Communication
Xiamen University
Xiamen, People’s Republic of China
ISSN 2196-3134 ISSN 2196-3142 (electronic)
ISBN 978-3-642-45440-0 ISBN 978-3-642-45441-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-45441-7
Springer Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013958450
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
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To my dearest grandparents:
Seeing the fourth generation growing up
is the most wonderful thing in the world.

Acknowledgment
F irst, and most important, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Prof. Louis
Leung in the School of Journalism and Communication, the Chinese University of
Hong Kong, for giving me the opportunity and leading me step by step into the
academic world. Thank you so much, not only for giving this book the most patient
and careful revision, but also for giving me a starting point of my academic life.
Your rigorous research attitude, and your enthusiasm for students, set the best model
for me as a researcher as well as a teacher.
My sincere thanks go to the Dean of the Faculty of Social Science, the Chinese
University of Hong Kong, Prof. Paul Siu Nam Lee, for giving me lots of valuable
guidance, support, and confi dence during my years in CU; to Prof. Ven-hwei Lo in
the School of Journalism and Communication, the Chinese University of Hong
Kong, and to Prof. Cecilia Cheng in the Department of Psychology, University of
Hong Kong, for providing me with many useful suggestions for improving this
book.
I would also like to express my deep love to the Graduate School and School of
Journalism and Communication, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Thanks
not only for sponsoring this research but also for giving me 5 years of peaceful and
wonderful study time. You made me more grown up and become much stronger.
I enjoyed every moment there. My gratitude also goes to the School of Journalism
and Communication, Xiamen University, for giving me a perfect platform to start
my academic career.
I am especially grateful to all the schools, directors, teachers, and adolescents
who participated and supported this research. Thanks a lot for answering the
questionnaire carefully and for willingly and openly coming forward to share your
experience with me. It is your patience and courage that provided the foundation
for this book.
Last but not least, special thanks go to my family—my four grandparents, my
parents, my husband, and my lovely son—your love gave me the confi dence and
persistence to pursue this endeavor.
vii

Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ........................................................................................ 1
1.2 Theoretical Framework of the Study .................................................. 3
1.3 Research Objectives ........................................................................... 4
1.4 Research Methods .............................................................................. 5
1.5 Main Contents of Each Chapter ......................................................... 5
References ................................................................................................... 6
2 Literature Review ..................................................................................... 9
2.1 What Are Social Media? .................................................................... 9
2.2 Social Media and Their Penetration in China .................................... 10
2.2.1 Instant Messaging (IM) .......................................................... 10
2.2.2 Social Network Sites (SNS) ................................................... 11
2.2.3 Blogs ...................................................................................... 11
2.2.4 Microblogs ............................................................................. 12
2.3 Uses and Gratifi cations ...................................................................... 13
2.3.1 History .................................................................................... 13
2.3.2 U&G Studies on IM ............................................................... 15
2.3.3 U&G Studies on SNS ............................................................. 16
2.3.4 U&G Studies on Blogs ........................................................... 17
2.3.5 U&G Studies on Microblogs .................................................. 18
2.4 Internet Addiction and Social Media Addiction ................................ 19
2.4.1 Internet Addiction .................................................................. 19
2.4.2 Internet Addiction Among Adolescents ................................. 20
2.4.3 Social Media Addiction.......................................................... 22
2.4.4 Parents’ Role in Adolescents’ Internet Addiction .................. 24
2.5 Sociopsychological Traits .................................................................. 25
2.5.1 Need for Affi liation ................................................................ 25
2.5.2 Impression Management ........................................................ 27
2.5.3 Narcissism .............................................................................. 29
2.5.4 Leisure Boredom .................................................................... 30
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