Rural adolescent engagement with social media (video sharing mobile apps) and its implications on their livelihood and social development

The physical, social and digital worlds of adolescents
are intertwined and may even blend with each other,
meaning that adolescents' online behaviours can reflect
and shape their livelihood (Subrahmanyam & Smahel,
2010). Previous studies have evaluated the role of
digital media in adolescent development from diverse
perspectives ranging from identity, social relationship,
violence, sexuality to their academic attainment. While
the existing literature largely focuses on platforms such
as Facebook and YouTube, often in the context of the
US and Europe, little empirical research has addressed
the implications of social media platforms in a non-
Western context. Given the recent penetration of digital
technologies into adolescents' lives in rural China, this
study centres on an under-examined Chinese rural
context to fill the gap.
This study will focus on Kuaishou, a short video-sharing
mobile application with massive popularity among the
Chinese rural population. The objective of this study is to
document rural youth engagement with the videosharing
platform and to understand how their online
cultural practices reflect and shape their livelihood and
social development. Three to five rural middle schools
will be selected as multiple case studies. Mixed methods
with qualitive methods as the priority approach will be
used to understand and examine rural adolescents'
engagement with the platform and the meanings
constructed by them. The findings of this study will
contribute to the ongoing discussion over the digital
cultural production and the implications of sociotechnical
systems for middle school students in everyday life.