Come and see how I perform differently across different platforms

SWITCHING VERSIONS

LANDSCAPE

Here, I will introduce the various social media platforms I use and outline how I present myself differently across these different landscapes. Through this digital map, you can see how I switch between different versions of myself on different platforms.

DIGITAL SPACES

  • WECHAT
    • The social media app I use most frequently
    • I mainly use it to keep in touch with family and friends in China
    • I share updates about my life in ‘Moment’
  • REDNOTE
    • Mainly for entertainment
    • People can find plenty of lifestyle information here (such as fashion trends, food and travel guides)
  • WEIBO
    • It is mainly used to follow celebrity and current news
    • People can also post their own social media content here
  • DOUYIN
    • Mainly used for watching short videos
    • I often post videos of my daily life and dancing here
  • BILIBILI
    • You can find a wide variety of videos covering many different topics here
    • This is a community where you can share your interests
  • INSTAGRAM
    • I mainly use it to follow news about friends or celebrities outside China
    • It’s my window into Western media
  • MIGU
    • I use it to watch live sporting events (mainly table tennis)
  • WHATSAPP
    • To get in touch with university friends and classmate
    • Mostly about coursework and group projects

CONCLUSION

For me, I divide these apps into two main categories: Eastern and Western. I perform very differently on Eastern and Western platforms. I am very familiar with Chinese social media. I used them for six years. However, I have only started using Western social media platforms in the last two years. As a Chinese student studying in the UK, I have always been situated in a cross-cultural position between China and the UK.

If one wishes to navigate intercultural successfully, it is essential to focus on ‘cultural threads and set aside cultural blocks’ (Holliday, 2016). The main cultural block I encounter when using Western media is language. When using Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat and Douyin, I usually feel very natural and relaxed. Here, I can use my mother language. I am facing with my family and the friends I have known for a long time here. So I do not need to mindful of my tone constantly. However, when I use Western platforms, the situation is completely different. Here, I need to use English. I have to ensure that what I post aligns with my intended meaning, and sometimes I even need to use the translator. I often cannot understand the abbreviations or slang that many of my classmates often used. This may lead to me presenting myself more polite but less natural on these platforms.

Furthermore, when switching between the two languages, I can very clearly feel a sense of ‘ethnic and national identity’. Elements of different socio-cultural backgrounds become key symbols of nationhood (Weber and Horner, 2017). Language is a crucial component of this socio-cultural context. Every time I switch from English to Chinese, I feel familiarity and confidence. This is a sense of belonging that comes from my own identity and national identity. However, when I use English, I often feel nervous and serious.

When I just focus on Chinese social media platforms, I’ve noticed that my behavior is also different across each one. Use WeChat and Douyin of the examples. On WeChat, I am connected with people I know in real life, and only they can see what I post. So I feel more relaxed when posting on WeChat and tend to show a more truthful version of myself. But Douyin is different. The videos and photos I post on Douyin are visible to everyone. Therefore, I usually only post the most polished content. For instance, the photos I think look best and the latest trending dances. The ‘me’ in this content is a ‘packaged’ version of myself, rather than the most truthful one.

By listing these different platforms, I’ve found that each one has a different purpose for me. My experience on each platform, and how I feel about them is completely different.