Identity Struggles as Online Activism in China: A Case Study Based on ‘The Inviting Plan for 985 Fives’ Community on Douban
This post summarizes the paper “Identity Struggles as Online Activism in China: A Case Study Based on ‘The Inviting Plan for 985 Fives’ Community on Douban” by Qinyuan Lei, Kit Kuksenok, Ran Tang, Jingyi Guo, Ran Ji, and Jiaxun Li presented at the 26th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW). You may access the paper here. ACM DOI: https://doi.org/1145/3610070
Although admission into a prestigious university is often perceived by both the students and their parents as a route to upward social mobility, this is not always the case in China. In contemporary China, college students are faced with tremendous social pressure and peer pressure brought by the economic downturn and a lack of upward social mobility. There is a group of students from the top universities who identify as “fives,” or “garbage,” in the society. They are those who were once recognized for their academic excellence, but now feel like “garbage”: anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed.
This study examines an online community called “The Inviting Plan for 985 Fives” (hereafter “985 Fives”) on Douban, one of the largest social media platforms in China. “985” refers to an educational project in China led by the government that contains 39 top Chinese universities comparable to internationally recognized research universities. “Five” refers to a Chinese word of a similar pronunciation, “garbage” (feiwu). Since May 2020, a growing number of 985 university students and graduates have joined the “985 Fives” group on Douban to share their real-life failure experiences in studies and work. They frequently use the term “involution” (neijuan) to describe their feeling of burnout from peer competition across work and study. “Involution,” a popular Chinese Internet term, is originally an anthropological term referring to the social phenomenon that “population growth does not result in productivity or improved innovation.”
We combined ethnographic methods such as participant observation and semi-structured interviews, with in-depth analysis of the top 30 threads, to answer the question: how do the participants collaborate and support each other in their identity struggles in the complex social space of an online community? We identified three major themes in our data:
· Identity struggles and identity formation
The group rules provide a clear definition for the identity of “five,” which defines the boundary of this community. The identity of “five” is also repeatedly consolidated in group members’ everyday discussions. Moreover, the identity of “five” is fluid and not permanent. The rejection of “involution” (peer competition) is central to the identity struggles and identity formation of the “fives.”
· Alternatives to “involution” (peer competition)
Collective imagination is playing an important role in sustaining this online community. Many “fives” believe that “involution” is a social norm and a social reality in China. They are challenging this social norm by imagining an alternative ideal life.
· Practical information sharing in job hunting
Douban discussion threads allow community members to coordinate the production and sharing of practical information. This practice is not limited to the online space. Online exchanges sometimes lead to practical information sharing between the members offline. Apart from practical information, the members also exchange emotional support with one another.
We also discussed a significant incident inside the “985 Fives” community related to identity formation and disinformation. We observed that material gain and the need for recognition have driven members in the community to deliberately share false information about themselves. While the anonymous interactions features on Douban support more intimate discussions, they can also potentially facilitate the creation and spread of disinformation.
Our contributions are:
· Identity struggles as online activism
We showcase that the online identity struggles of the disenchanted Chinese youths is an important form of online activism with powerful social and political implications in contemporary Chinese society. We find that their identity struggles on social media is the very foundation of their online activism, which is intricately associated with their material and nonmaterial struggles in offline realities.
· Sustained social support
We highlight how social media can support young Chinese people to generate long-term social support in an online community. Online communities support the psychological well-being of their members through offering emotional support, opportunities of collaboration, and camaraderie in identity struggles.
· Design implications
We point to the need of more inclusive design solutions that facilitate the expression of marginalized voices and allow less privileged social groups to obtain social support. We also call to mind that system designers should form a better understanding of the potential as well as the constraints of their design in the contexts of promoting collective actions.
