Self-Technologies in WeChat Status Use among Chinese Youth: An Empirical Survey Study
Abstract
With the deep popularization of social media, the social modes and self-expression paths of young people are constantly changing, and WeChat Status has gradually become a new daily expression space for young groups. Taking Foucault's "technologies of self" theory as the analytical framework, this study adopts the questionnaire survey method to conduct an empirical study on the WeChat Status usage behavior of young people aged 15-29, with a total of 173 valid questionnaires collected. It aims to explore the practices of self-expression, self-regulation and identity construction of young people in the semi-private digital social field. The study found that WeChat Status enables young people to express their emotions in a more relaxed and immediate way. Compared with maintaining a social image of "being seen", more and more young people are beginning to care more about "expressing themselves truthfully".
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