The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China

Ru Ying

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

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The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China

Ru Ying

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 3)

Received: 27 February 2020 Accepted: 10 March 2020 Published: 8 April 2020

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Abstract

Digitalization has been identified as one of the most significant trends that change society, business, and people’s lives and has attracted academic attention from different fields. This study aims to investigate how digitalization, with the adoption of far-ranging digital technologies, has changed individuals’ lifestyles in China. WeChat was taken as an example to illustrate how digital social media, a typical digital technology, penetrates every aspect of individuals’ life and thus changes people’s lifestyles. To obtain in-depth insights about individuals’ perceptions and views towards the influence of WeChat, a semi-structured interview was conducted. Thirty respondents were interviewed, and three functionalities, namely Chats, Official Accounts and WeChat Pay, emerged as the most influential and were selected for detailed discussion. With cultural studies theories and through detailed analysis, the paper found that empowered by digital technologies, Chats has transformed individuals’ communicative practices to be hyper-texted and highly interactive; Official Accounts has created a platform for individuals to follow news and express ideas, a practice that was confined to professionals only; thus, a publishing public has emerged; and WeChat Pay has revolutionized how people shop and consume and access civil service. That is, the lifestyle of individuals is digitalized in China.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 3) This article belongs to the Special Issue Humanity and Science: China’s Intercultural Communication with the Outside World in the New Era
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
Page(s)	119-126
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Digitalization, Lifestyle, WeChat, Chats, Official Accounts, WeChat Pay

References

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Ru Ying. (2020). The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(3), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

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Ru Ying. The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(3), 119-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

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Ru Ying. The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(3):119-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13,
  author = {Ru Ying},
  title = {The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {119-126},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200803.13},
  abstract = {Digitalization has been identified as one of the most significant trends that change society, business, and people’s lives and has attracted academic attention from different fields. This study aims to investigate how digitalization, with the adoption of far-ranging digital technologies, has changed individuals’ lifestyles in China. WeChat was taken as an example to illustrate how digital social media, a typical digital technology, penetrates every aspect of individuals’ life and thus changes people’s lifestyles. To obtain in-depth insights about individuals’ perceptions and views towards the influence of WeChat, a semi-structured interview was conducted. Thirty respondents were interviewed, and three functionalities, namely Chats, Official Accounts and WeChat Pay, emerged as the most influential and were selected for detailed discussion. With cultural studies theories and through detailed analysis, the paper found that empowered by digital technologies, Chats has transformed individuals’ communicative practices to be hyper-texted and highly interactive; Official Accounts has created a platform for individuals to follow news and express ideas, a practice that was confined to professionals only; thus, a publishing public has emerged; and WeChat Pay has revolutionized how people shop and consume and access civil service. That is, the lifestyle of individuals is digitalized in China.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China
AU  - Ru Ying
Y1  - 2020/04/08
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 119
EP  - 126
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
AB  - Digitalization has been identified as one of the most significant trends that change society, business, and people’s lives and has attracted academic attention from different fields. This study aims to investigate how digitalization, with the adoption of far-ranging digital technologies, has changed individuals’ lifestyles in China. WeChat was taken as an example to illustrate how digital social media, a typical digital technology, penetrates every aspect of individuals’ life and thus changes people’s lifestyles. To obtain in-depth insights about individuals’ perceptions and views towards the influence of WeChat, a semi-structured interview was conducted. Thirty respondents were interviewed, and three functionalities, namely Chats, Official Accounts and WeChat Pay, emerged as the most influential and were selected for detailed discussion. With cultural studies theories and through detailed analysis, the paper found that empowered by digital technologies, Chats has transformed individuals’ communicative practices to be hyper-texted and highly interactive; Official Accounts has created a platform for individuals to follow news and express ideas, a practice that was confined to professionals only; thus, a publishing public has emerged; and WeChat Pay has revolutionized how people shop and consume and access civil service. That is, the lifestyle of individuals is digitalized in China.
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Ru Ying

School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

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Ru Ying. (2020). The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(3), 119-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

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ACS Style

Ru Ying. The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(3), 119-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Ru Ying. The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(3):119-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13,
  author = {Ru Ying},
  title = {The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {119-126},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200803.13},
  abstract = {Digitalization has been identified as one of the most significant trends that change society, business, and people’s lives and has attracted academic attention from different fields. This study aims to investigate how digitalization, with the adoption of far-ranging digital technologies, has changed individuals’ lifestyles in China. WeChat was taken as an example to illustrate how digital social media, a typical digital technology, penetrates every aspect of individuals’ life and thus changes people’s lifestyles. To obtain in-depth insights about individuals’ perceptions and views towards the influence of WeChat, a semi-structured interview was conducted. Thirty respondents were interviewed, and three functionalities, namely Chats, Official Accounts and WeChat Pay, emerged as the most influential and were selected for detailed discussion. With cultural studies theories and through detailed analysis, the paper found that empowered by digital technologies, Chats has transformed individuals’ communicative practices to be hyper-texted and highly interactive; Official Accounts has created a platform for individuals to follow news and express ideas, a practice that was confined to professionals only; thus, a publishing public has emerged; and WeChat Pay has revolutionized how people shop and consume and access civil service. That is, the lifestyle of individuals is digitalized in China.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Digitalization of Lifestyle in a Digital Era: A Case Study of WeChat in China
AU  - Ru Ying
Y1  - 2020/04/08
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 119
EP  - 126
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200803.13
AB  - Digitalization has been identified as one of the most significant trends that change society, business, and people’s lives and has attracted academic attention from different fields. This study aims to investigate how digitalization, with the adoption of far-ranging digital technologies, has changed individuals’ lifestyles in China. WeChat was taken as an example to illustrate how digital social media, a typical digital technology, penetrates every aspect of individuals’ life and thus changes people’s lifestyles. To obtain in-depth insights about individuals’ perceptions and views towards the influence of WeChat, a semi-structured interview was conducted. Thirty respondents were interviewed, and three functionalities, namely Chats, Official Accounts and WeChat Pay, emerged as the most influential and were selected for detailed discussion. With cultural studies theories and through detailed analysis, the paper found that empowered by digital technologies, Chats has transformed individuals’ communicative practices to be hyper-texted and highly interactive; Official Accounts has created a platform for individuals to follow news and express ideas, a practice that was confined to professionals only; thus, a publishing public has emerged; and WeChat Pay has revolutionized how people shop and consume and access civil service. That is, the lifestyle of individuals is digitalized in China.
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download