Asian Perspectives on Digital Culture : Emerging Phenomena, Enduring Concepts

In Asia, amidst its varied levels of economic development and diverse cultural traditions and political regimes, the Internet and mobile communications are increasingly used in every aspect of life. Yet the analytical frames used to understand the impact of digital media on Asia predominantly originate from the Global North, neither rooted in Asia’s rich philosophical traditions, nor reflective of the sociocultural practices of this dynamic region. This volume examines digital phenomena and its impact on Asia by drawing on specifically Asian perspectives. Contributors apply a variety of Asian theoretical frameworks including guanxi, face, qing, dharma and karma. With chapters focusing on emerging digital trends in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, the book presents compelling and diverse research on identity and selfhood, spirituality, social networking, corporate image, and national identity as shaped by and articulated through digital communication platforms.

Sun Sun Lim is an Associate Professor at the Department of Communications and New Media, and Assistant Dean for Research at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. She studies the social implications of technology domestication by young people and families, charting the ethnographies of their Internet and mobile phone use, publishing more than 50 monographs, journal articles and book chapters. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Journal of Children and Media, Communication, Culture & Critique, and Mobile Media & Communication.

Cheryll Ruth Soriano is an Associate Professor of Communication at the De La Salle University in the Philippines. She is interested in the social and political implications of new media, and she has published papers exploring the multiple intersections of cultural politics and activism, multiculturalism, ritual, and new media engagement in developing societies. Her recent works appear in international journals such as Media, Culture & Society and Communication, Culture & Critique, as well as edited volumes.