Theoretical and Methodological Evolution of Youth Subculture Studies in China: A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Abstract
In recent half a century, studies on China's youth subculture have changed day by day under social transformation and development of medias, formation of research traditions with the themes of meaning construction and interactive process. Among these, the symbolic interaction theory was most commonly used and introduced in youth subculture research because of its emphasis on symbols, interactions, and identity recognition. A systematic review of theoretical evolution and method change in the research on youth subculture in China over the last 30 years shows that most studies have focused on the symbolic expression and meaning negotiation in youth subculture. But in the current digital media era, youth subculture practice will be showing new content characteristics centered on emotion, relationship building, and companionship. Rewritten content: Recent studies related to online dream girl culture, virtual emotional companion and human-machine intimate relationship show that now youth subculture is no longer just a sphere for meaning production, but an important emotional projection place and emotional settlement place. So based on this, this paper is determined to re-interpret symbolic interaction theory in emotional perspective by reviewing the relevant research framework and emphasizes that the incorporation of the emotional dimension and the analytical framework is a way to enrich our understanding of contemporary China's youth subculture forms and their research shift.
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