Author(s)

Yuqiao Ji ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China

Corresponding Author

Yuqiao Ji

ABSTRACT

Since WeChat launched in Chinese mainland, it has rapidly occupied the social life of most Chinese and has become the most popular social media platform in China undoubtedly, with the effect like Facebook in the other regions around the world. Comparing with Facebook or Instagram, WeChat extended its functions from the original one as chatting with friends online and following the interesting accounts to the financial area, for example, WeChat wallet and sending red packets through virtual channel. According to the report from official Xinhua news agency, users of WeChat sent around 46 billion electronic red packets - digital versions of traditional envelopes stuffed with cash - via the Chinese mobile social platform just over the 2017 Lunar New Year period. This statistic demonstrates sending digital red packet via WeChat especially in traditional festival has already become the latest popular trend and attractive entertainment in China. This article focuses on how WeChat red packets inherit and expand the form and function of traditional red packets. As the issues about inheritance and revival of traditional culture has been becoming more important at present time, the article attempts to take WeChat red packets as example so as to discuss whether social media can extend influence of Chinese traditions to the virtual world, and what influence the practice can make.

KEYWORDS

WeChat, Red Packets, Chinese Tradition, Collective Behaviors, Digital Practice, Incentive

CITE THIS PAPER

Yuqiao Ji, The Extension of Chinese Tradition in Digital Age—Taking Red Packets on WeChat as an Example. Media and Communication Research (2023) Vol. 4: 60-65. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/mediacr.2023.040808.

REFERENCES

[1] Fiske, S. T., Gilbert, D. T., & Lindzey, G. Handbook of Social Psychology [M]. edited by Susan T. Fiske, Daniel T. gilbert, Gardner Lindzey (5th ed. . ed. ). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. 
[2] Blumer, H. Social Problems as Collective Behaviour [J]. Social Problems: Official Journal of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, 1971, 18(3):298-306. 
[3] Smelser, N. J. Theory of Collective Behavior [M]. Neil J. Smelser. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1963. 
[4] Information Resources Management Association. Virtual Communities: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications [M]. IGI Global. 2010
[5] Antin, J. D. Social Operational Information, Competence, and Participation in Online Collective Action. [D]. University of California, Berkeley, 2010. 
[6] Johnson, George. King Algorithm: An Oracle for Our Time, Part Man, Part Machine [N]. New York Times Week in Review, 2007. 
[7] Cheshire C, Antin J. The Social Psychological Effects of Feedback on the Production of Internet Information Pools [J]. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2008. 
[8] Smith, M. A., 1965-, & Kollock, P. Communities in Cyberspace[M] / edited by Marc A. Smith and Peter Kollock. New York: Routledge, 1999. 
[9] Hart, W. Incentive [J]. Public Administration, 1934, 12(3): 260-271. 
[10] Xie Yue. The Change on Traditional Social Relationship by Discussing the Red Packets on Wechat[J]. Tangshan: Journal of Tangshan Teachers College, 2015, 37(04), 78-81. 
[11] Liang Guangcheng, Cheng Lei, Hou Kaiyuan. The Popularity of Social Media in Interpersonal Communication — Taking 'WeChat Red Packet' as Example[J]. China Prefecture and Town Newspaperman, 2022(S2):11-13. 
[12] Park L. WeChat Red Bags: How International Students from China Use Social Media While Attending a Public University in California [D]. 2016. 
[13] Tian Jieyu. Brief Analysis of the Spring Festival Red Packet Custom in WeChat Red Bags [J]. Journal of News Research, 2016, 7(19):88-89. 
[14] Hofstede, G. H. Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations across Nations [M]. Geert Hofstede (2nd ed. ed. ). Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications, 2001. 
[15] Couldry N. Media, Society, World: Social Theory and Digital Media Practice [M]. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2012.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Journal of Language Testing & Assessment
  
  
• Information and Knowledge Management
  
  
• Military and Armament Science
  
  
• Journal of Human Movement Science
  
  
• Art and Performance Letters
  
  
• Lecture Notes on History
  
  
• Lecture Notes on Language and Literature
  
  
• Philosophy Journal
  
  
• Science of Law Journal
  
  
• Journal of Political Science Research
  
  
• Journal of Sociology and Ethnology
  
  
• Advances in Broadcasting