Student migration and polymedia: mainland Chinese students’ communication media use in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Drawing on qualitative data obtained from mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, this research uses polymedia theory to analyse the social implications of media use and interpersonal communication by migrant students. It looks at how migrant students use media to communicate with family members and friends in mainland China compared with Hong Kong locals. When communicating with family and friends, their media usage is intense, close and emotion-oriented, forming a warm and supportive virtual network that provides familiarity, a sense of belonging and emotional attachment. In contrast, their media usage to communicate with Hong Kong locals is limited, functional and study-oriented, and although it becomes a platform for practical help, it also demonstrates deep contradictions and conflicts with members of the host society.

KEYWORDS:

• Student migration
• polymedia
• communication media
• mainland Chinese students
• Hong Kong

Acknowledgement

The author thanks the informants spending time answering the questions and their generosity of sharing their stories. The data collection would not be completed without the assistance of Bi He, Du Yi, Zhang Ling Fei, Tang Ling, Ma Huan, Yan Ni and Max Li. An earlier version of this article was presented at the workshop on Maneuvering through Physical and Virtual Spaces: Mobility and New Media in Asian Cities, 4–5 August, 2014, at the National University of Singapore. The author thanks the audience at the workshop and the three anonymous reviewers of Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies for their insightful comments on the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. See related news reports: ‘Topics: Anti-mainland sentiments’, South China Morning Post, available from http://www.scmp.com/topics/anti-mainland-sentiments; ‘Anti-Mainland Sentiment on the Rise in Hong Kong’, The Diplomat, February 24, 2015, available from http://thediplomat.com/2015/02/anti-mainland-sentiment-on-the-rise-in-hong-kong.

2. All participants’ names are pseudonyms.

3. See news report: ‘Hong Kong “radicals” up ante in democracy push against China’, Reuters, February 23, 2015, available from http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/23/us-hongkong-radicals-insight-idUSKBN0LQ0UO20150223.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hong Kong Baptist University under a Faculty Research Grant [FRG1/13-14/045].