Two selves and online forums in China

Chinese society is characterized by emerging fragmentation and by the coexistence of traditional and Western values, goals and norms. In this multifaceted environment bi-cultural selves, which encompass social and individual orientations, may emerge. The aim of this paper is to explore if features of bi-cultural selves concerning interactions, emotions, and values are reflected in online public discussions in China. In order to address this question, we explored two of the most popular bulletin board systems (BBSs): Tian Ya and Feng Huang Forums. BBSs attract almost one third of Internet users in China and provide these users with a forum to carry out public dialogue; BBSs are thus an ideal place to study how the self is socially shaped in public communication. A sample of 6109 messages was subjected to quantitative content analysis. Results show that twofold self-construal, corresponding to the individual-and social-oriented self, are (also) detected in BBSs forum content: direct and polemic content coexist with conciliatory content; ego-focused and other-focused emotions are almost equally as frequent as one another; and traditional values are evoked together with the quest for truth and individual rights. Moreover, three typologies of Internet users (proactive, ambivalent, and follower), which were identified on the basis of the quality of their online interactions, show different patterns of emotions and values. We may thus conclude that alternative ways of constructing self-other and self-society relationships currently coexist in China and that these alternative views confront each other on BBS forums.