The fuzzy boundary between public and private in digital discourse

Abstract

My research focuses on practices of managing Chinese guanxi (useful connections) in digital discourses, and especially how do Chinese internal diasporas build and maintain their connections in two social media, WeChat and QQ. The last ten years have witnessed an increasing number of research in digital discourse as the role of computer-mediated communication continues to expand in modern life. However, digital data can be hard to pin down because the identities of participants engaging in online activities are difficult to anchor and the boundaries between private and public space, online and offline context are notoriously blurry. This presentation will mainly bring out two issues in relation to the fuzzy line between public and private in digital discourse: which factors will invalidate the traditional dichotomy of public space and private space and how does the fluidity of this boundary influence the evaluation and interpretation of digital self-expressions. The preliminary observations suggest that cyberspace can be semi-public, but can also be highly private and highly public at the same time. To decipher the shifting boundaries between the mass communication and interpersonal communication, researchers should take into consideration the affordances of social media, participant frameworks as well as other nuanced factors that intervene in this process.