Navigating Digital Currents: How Social Communication Shapes and Sustains Local Cultural Inheritance

Abstract

This study examines the intricate and evolving interplay between social communication processes and the preservation of local cultural heritage in the digital age, a context characterized by rapid technological advancement and growing global interconnectedness. Through an in-depth analysis of three distinct case studies—Huizhou merchant culture, the Hakka dialect, and Shaanxi shadow puppetry—this study identifies and dissects the multifaceted challenges precipitated by globalization and digitalization. These challenges include cultural homogenization, which threatens to erode the unique characteristics of local traditions, and superficial commercialization, whereby cultural practices are often reduced to simplistic, marketable symbols stripped of their deeper historical and spiritual meanings. Employing a rigorous mixed-method research design, the study combines qualitative interviews with cultural inheritors, community members, and digital media practitioners with quantitative analysis of social media data. Based on this empirical foundation, the research proposes a set of multi-level, interconnected strategies designed to enhance sustainable cultural transmission. These strategies integrate the cultivation of individual agency, the promotion of educational innovation centered on local heritage, and the development of community-based communication networks that leverage both traditional and digital channels.