Research on the Acceptance of Chinese Traditional Clothing Culture by YouTubers in the Era of We-Media

Abstract

Hanfu, as a symbol of Chinese traditional clothing culture, has gradually attracted more and more attention from the Chinese. However, there are endless incidents of cultural appropriation of Chinese traditional clothing, and it is urgent to explore the acceptance of Chinese traditional clothing culture by social media platform users in the era of We-media. This paper will be based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT model), with YouTubers as the representative of the social media platform users and Hanfu as the representation of Chinese traditional clothing culture. Based on the four dimensions of the UTAUT model (Performance Expectation, Effort Expectation, Social Influence, and Facilities Conditions), the fifth dimension “Content Production” will be extended to build the research framework for YouTubers’ acceptance of Chinese traditional clothing culture. The questionnaire is designed with the Likert scale, and the data is analyzed with SPSS25.0. Performance Expectation (A), Effort Expectation (B), Social Influence (C), Facilities Conditions (D), and Content Production (E) are five independent variables, and YouTubers’ acceptance of Chinese traditional clothing culture (F) is the dependent variable. Through regression analysis, the regression equation is obtained: F=-0.470+0.152A+0.251B+0.104C+0.172D+0.864E. Content Production has a more significant impact on the dependent variable, and disseminators of Chinese traditional clothing culture should pay attention to the quality, innovation, and diversity of the content, while Chinese brands should actively collaborate with YouTube bloggers to create videos, promoting the development of Chinese traditional clothing culture industry and making more consumers become a force for Chinese traditional clothing culture communication. This paper can to some extent fill the research gap in the acceptance of Chinese traditional clothing culture by social media platform users, and provide a theoretical basis and practical significance for the subsequent proposal of more effective international communication strategies.