Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia #25: Online Society in China: Creating, Celebrating, and Instrumentalising the Online Carnival

This book argues that the internet in China is a separate 'space' in which a separate society of individuals and institutions interact, and that, while the 'real' and the 'online' spaces interact and influence each other, the Chinese internet is more than merely a technological or media extension of offline Chinese society. Unlike other studies of the internet in China, which either explore what is specifically Chinese about the internet in China, or which focus on new forms of interaction between social actors in China or the new social movements made possible by their new interaction, or which, using the methods of media studies, explore the internet as another medium for entertainment, this book examines Chinese people on the internet and what they actually do on the internet, discussing a wide range of different activities.

This book discusses the rich and varied culture of China's online society, and its impact on offline China. It argues that the internet in China is a separate 'space' in which individuals and institutions emerge and interact. While offline and online spaces are connected and influence each other, the Chinese internet is more than merely a technological or media extension of offline Chinese society. Instead of following existing studies by locating online China in offline society, the contributors in this book discuss the carnival of the Chinese internet on its own terms.

Examining the complex relationship between government officials and the people using the Internet in China, this book demonstrates that culture is highly influential in how technology is used. Discussing a wide range of different activities, the contributors examine what Chinese people actually do on the internet, and how their actions can be interpreted within the online society they are creating.