Triple Articulation of Scientifc Object, Symbolic Text and Sociospatial Context: A Case Study of Mobile Internet Consumption in One Village of Eastern China

Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication ›› 2019, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (11) : 24-45.

PDF(11233 KB)
PDF(11233 KB)
Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication ›› 2019, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (11) : 24-45.

Triple Articulation of Scientifc Object, Symbolic Text and Sociospatial Context: A Case Study of Mobile Internet Consumption in One Village of Eastern China

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Abstract

How does everyday life articulate with information communication technologies (ICTs) for Chinese rural people with the rapid diffusion of mobile Internet(MI)? Using ethnographic methodology, this study investigated relationships between ICTs and peasants’ everyday life via analyzing MI activities in Jicun (a village in Shandong Province). Adopting the triadic articulation theory, this study carried out analysis from three perspectives: scientific object, symbolic text andsociospatial context. This study found that: (1) In the meaning of the scientifc object, the diffusion of the MI in the rural area was driven by the mobile phone’s economical trait and technological affordances. The MI activities of peasants reveal that the smartphone has technological features of shared experience and customization. (2) In the meaning of symbolic texts, the peasants’ content consumption represents differential patterns depending on family division of labor and power relations. Meanwhile, it also reveals some “schedules on online time” in rural families’ daily Internet consumption. (3) In the meaning of sociospatial context, the “absent space” in the agriculture was formatted in the MI activities. The shared space in house decayed and the “bedroom culture” occurred. For the working abroad and the married peasants, the MI sustains the relationship of previous guanxi based on a geographical bias of blood ties and plays the function of reproducing the family space.

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Triadic articulation / Rural China / ICT / Audience studies

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Triple Articulation of Scientifc Object, Symbolic Text and Sociospatial Context: A Case Study of Mobile Internet Consumption in One Village of Eastern China[J]. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication. 2019, 41(11): 24-45
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