Looking after the elderly, looking after the nation: Red (Xiao Hongshu) and China’s biopolitical governance of ageing

ABSTRACT

This article examines the cultural production of ageing in China. Specifically, it studies the representation and cultural construction of ageing on Red (xiao hongshu), a popular e-commerce orientated social media application (app). By noting the local in-app and techno-political dynamics the ageing discourse operates in, this article argues that the representation of ageing on Red reflects Chinese platform’s dual ambitions of pursuing market success and securing political support from the party-state. Drawing on data collected from a mixed-method approach of platform and document analysis, it finds that Red’s representation of ageing is located within the state’s official discourse that shifts the caring responsibility and duty to younger family members. By governing the ageing body, the Chinese government is also governing the general population. This article advances knowledge of digital media use in producing cultural discourses around their role in shaping biopolitical governance in China.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• biopolitics
• mainland China
• mobile media application
• platform governance

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 iiMedia research is a major big data mining and analysis organization based in Guangzhou, China. It has cooperated with the local Guangdong governments and major telecommunication networks, and technological corporations (such as BAT) in China and abroad, to deliver data research services (https://www.iimedia.com.cn/en/about.jsp).

2 Formerly known as the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT, 1998–2013) and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT, 2013–2018).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wilfred Yang Wang

Wilfred Yang Wang is the Lecturer in Media & Society at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on digital/platform technologies, mobile media and migration, digital geographies, and China. He is the author of the book, Digital Media in Urban China Locating Guangzhou (Rowman & Littlefield International, 2019).