“微言”与“大义”:微信使用对乡村精英权威构建的影响--对大理白族村落的田野考察

“Little Words”and“Great Justice”:The Impact of WeChat on the Authority Construction of Rural Elites-A Field Study of a Bai Village in Dali

数字时代背景下,乡村精英也在移动互联网的影响中经历着转化。文章以云南一个白族传统村落为研究个案,考察当地乡村精英群体的微信生活。研究发现,精英身份和意识赋予他们技术使用的独特性,微信对精英群体的权威建构发挥了新的影响和作用。具体来说,乡村精英通过对微信技术的积极运用,在巩固象征性资源、拓展社会关系网络、激发公共生活的参与度等方面形成了新的权威构建方式。文章试图从新媒体技术的角度去探究微信和乡村精英权威身份构建的方式以及技术带给村落社会的重要影响和意义。

Within the background of the digital age,rural elites are also undergoing transformation under the influence of mobile Internet.Taking the rural elites of a Bai village in Dali,Yunnan as the entry point,this article analyzes the interactive relationship between media technology and the authority construct of elites in the era of mobile Internet.It can be seen that embedding WeChat in rural society provides more possibilities for elites to participate in social and cultural practices,while the highly liberalized environment for writing and expression built by new technology makes it easier for users to take control of communication,and maintain social identity and status.From the perspective of technology use,WeChat provides a new space for daily interaction between rural elites and ordinary villagers.Driven by technology,the elites construct their authority in the WeChat world through flexible and creative use of technology.The authority in the virtual world and the authority in real life are mutually embedded,so the elites use of WeChat essentially reconstructs the authority of individuals in the real world,and affects the village society s recognition of their authority status.We believe that WeChat plays an intermediary role in the process of constructing the authority of the elites in Shilong village.In traditional society,the authority construction of rural elites depends on their presence in real life.However,the involvement of mass media,whose production and creation are in the hands of a few people,cannot give the village elites the space and opportunity to carry out media practice freely.In the era of the mobile Internet,new communication technology provides more possibilities for elites to implement social communication strategies,and at the same time it becomes a technical means for them to control and coordinate material or symbolic resources.It can be said that the construction of authority in the WeChat world is the product of the combination of the virtual and reality.The instrumentalized use of media technology plays a role for the connection,regulation and extension between individuals and social structure,and has become an important way for rural elites to construct authority today.For traditional Chinese rural society,the rural elite is the key force for promoting change in village society.Although the power of the state had extended into and been stabilized within rural society before the founding of the People s Republic of China,the rural governance mode after Reform and Opening-up underwent a change from elite governance within the institution to multi-elite cooperative governance,but the complex rural elite group still has value and significance within the framework of modern rural governance.This study takes the WeChat life of rural elites as the starting point to discuss the relationship between new media technology and the authority construct of elites,which will provide new inspiration for media governance and other topics in rural studies.