Abstract

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Title:: Horizontal Collectivism and Participatory Culture: A Study on theNew Changes in Individual Values Held by Youth Groups in theNetwork Era

Author(s):: YIN Wen; ZHANG Jie; YIN Wen, PhD in sociology, is Associate Professor at College of Humanities andSocial Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University ( Nanjing 210023 ); ZHANG Jie, PhD in sociology, is Professorat School of Public Administration, Hohai University ( Nanjing 210098 ).

Keywords:: individual values; horizontal collectivism; internet cultivation; participatory culture

Abstract:: The values held by the post-00s generation, the younger generation born in China from 2000to 2009 and growing up with the Internet, are different from those of the post-90s generation. Through anempirical research on the individual values held by youth groups in the network age, this paper has found thatthe individual consciousness of the post-00s generation has continuity and similarity with that of the post-90s generation, but there are also differences: the post-00s generation have greater affinity with the Westernindividualistic values and show more care about others’ views on them; their sub-cultural group identity is moredistinct, which is based on the horizontal collectivism rather than the Western individualist values; and theiridentification with internet celebrities is also stronger. The age when they contact the Internet for the first timeand the amount of time that they spend on the Internet every day are statistically correlated with their desire tobecome an internet celebrity, which has an impact on the values held by young people, and the effect of Internetinclusion is obvious. These changes are undoubtedly related to cultural factors. On the one hand, the collectivistvalues themselves have undergone new changes. On the other hand, the participatory culture in the network erahas strengthened some aspects of collectivism, leading to its confluence with collectivism.