New Media Users in China: A Mediatization Perspective

As the second volume of a two-volume set on new media users in China, this book approaches the subject from a micro level. examining the mediatized existence and life of new media users in the digital age and the approaching age of artificial intelligence.

To further explore the interaction between people and new media, this volume focuses on the idea of the "mediatized survival" of new media users. By analyzing user behaviour and practice in mediatized time and space, including selfies, photo retouching, memes, online videos, social media posts, video conferences, and WeChat red packets, the author elucidates the mediatized self-expression embodied in these key phenomena and shows how reality and virtual life converge and interact. The final two chapters discuss drivers of new forms of mediatization surrounding data and cyborgs, exploring the impact of algorithms on people and the outlook for human-machine relationships.

This title will be a must-read for scholars, students and media professionals interested in the topics of internet communication, new media usage and media and society as a whole.

Peng Lan is a Professor at the School of Journalism, Renmin University of China. She is a highly cited scholar in the area of new media communication and is also one of the pioneers engaging in the teaching and studies of new media in China.