Publication |
2014.
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Summary/Abstract |
This article examines activism that has emerged in online communities. This ethnographic study of two web-based backpacking communities shows that citizens and activists use the Internet mainly for forming communities, sharing information, instilling democratic values and solving immediate social problems. They do not call for cyberwar, acts of hacktivism or other sorts of offensive online and offline actions, but seek to bring social justice and improve well-being within their sphere of influence. The dynamics of this new online activism and its significance for the development of associational life and civil society in China are explored in this article.
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