Dis(playing) mediated filial norms: filial child practices on WeChat among Chinese cross-border students

ABSTRACT

This study demonstrates the importance of the approach of dis(playing) families in analyzing and conceptualizing mediated filial norms in Chinese cross-border/transnational families. Based upon two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Macao, the study develops a conceptual framework – dis(playing) mediated filial norms – to examine how Chinese cross-border students use WeChat to reconstitute their long-distance filial practices. Findings point to a double dynamic of dis(playing) filial norms, in which mediated filial norms shape their displays of emotions and bodies, whereas playing with filial norms battles the conflicts and burdens behind filial ideals. This study contributes to understanding the practices of mediated filial norms from parent–child dynamic interactions on social media, from multiple-audience perspectives, and from the uniqueness of WeChat in Chinese transnational domesticity. It also offers a conceptual explanation for the contradictions between connected and disconnected intimacy within filial practices.

KEYWORDS:

• Filial piety
• mediated filial norms
• display family
• WeChat
• transnational families

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chuyue Ou

Chuyue Ou, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow at the School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. Her research interests include social media and issues relating to Macao and Taiwan. Her work has appeared in New Media & Society, Journal of Pragmatics, Chinese Journal of Communication, and Mobile Media & Communication [email: [email protected]].

Todd Sandel

Todd Sandel is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Macau. His research interests are in the areas of language and social interaction, intercultural communication, and Chinese social media. He is the author of Brides on Sale and associate editor of the International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction published by Wiley. From 2017 to 2020, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication [email: [email protected]].

Zhongxuan Lin

Zhongxuan Lin, PhD, is a Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. His research interests include game studies, cultural studies and communication studies. His work has appeared in Asian Journal of Women’s Studies; Media International Australia; Chinese Journal of Communication; International Journal of Communication; International Journal of Cultural Studies; Media, Culture & Society; Information, Communication & Society; and New Media & Society among others [email: [email protected]].