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“China has imposed recent restrictions on its entertainment industry, including banning those under 18 from playing online games during the weekdays. What are the potential consequence of this? Would it encourage more surveillance?”

Internet usage has expanded more quickly in China than anywhere else in the world (Chiu, C, Lin, D and Silverman, A 2012). In December 2011, China had 513 million Internet users, compared with 67 million in Germany, 121 million in India, and 245 million in the United States (Chiu, C, Lin, D and Silverman, A 2012). According to research by Chin (2023), they use WeChat as the ‘super app’ that stands for multiple ones we use to rule them all. How did China restrict children under the age of 18 from playing internet games during the week? They worked through WeChat. After China carried out restrictions on the industry of entertainment, persons who want to play online games must identify their age by uploading personal information to WeChat. Not only that, but if we want to play China's online games, we must also prove our age.

WHY?

Authorities in China, the world’s largest video games market, have worried for years about addiction to gaming and the internet among young people, setting up clinics that combine therapy and military drills for those with so-called “gaming disorders” (Cyprus Mail 2021). They are concerned about the influence of excessive screen time on young people's physical and mental health, in my opinion. Games like 'He Ping Jing Ying' and 'Wang Zhe Rong Yao' are well-known in China, and the majority of young people like them. The authorities may be concerned that violence in games would impact young people.

Furthermore, it is possible that China developed such limits in response to parental pressure from children under the age of 18. According to the Game Industry Group's study (Zen Soo 2023), more than 75% of minors in China played online games for less than three hours per week, and most parents were satisfied with the new limits. Parents seek to encourage their children to live healthier lifestyles and do better academically, but in my opinion, young people should balance their studies and entertainment, and they should not be prohibited from playing online games.

Impact of this restrictions on China’s entertainment industry

On 1 September 2019, the new restrictions forbid children under 18 to play online games from Monday through Thursday; they can only play for one hour, from 8p.m. to 9p.m., on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (Cyprus Mail 2021). Some young people rely on online games to relieve academic stress, and the restrictions on China's entertainment industry may make them feel stressed. According to what I've seen on the news, many students attempt suicide because they are too stressed about their academic performance. According to research (Bloomberg 2023), academic pressure has contributed to a rise in suicides among young people in China in recent years.

Furthermore, the restrictions on China's entertainment industry may have a serious effect on the gaming industry, particularly those that rely on the youth market. Soon after the news, shares in companies like as Amsterdam-listed Prosus, which owns 29% of video gaming company Tencent, fell 1.45% (Brooke 2021). According to Brooke (2021), there are 720 million gamers in China, with around 110 million of them being under the age of 18. Because these young people often spend their money on games, restricts in China's entertainment industry may result in economic losses for the country.

Would it encourage more surveillance?

In my perspective, China's entertainment industry restrictions, such as those on online gaming for minors, are likely to lead to increasing surveillance. They might encourage extra surveillance by setting age restrictions and monitoring internet behaviour at the request of parents. Authorities might be forced to use stronger methods of verifying the age of users in order to guarantee compliance with restrictions on gaming. This might include the collecting and analysis of personal information, which could lead to increased surveillance. Furthermore, in order to set gaming restrictions at specific times of day, authorities may establish monitoring systems to track a player's online activities; this entails surveillance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, public sentiment and privacy concerns may impact how the government monitors. Increased monitoring might cause privacy concerns and cause problems about the proper balance of regulatory measures and personal freedoms. As with any policy, the effects and reactions will change over time, and the Chinese government may modify its approach based on a range of factors, including public opinion and views of the measures' success.

References

Bloomberg 2023, China suicide rates rise among young amid pressure to do well at school, South China Morning Post, viewed 22 November 2023, <https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3226827/china-suicide-rates-rise-among-young-amid-pressure-do-well-school>.

Brooke, S 2021, What to Make of the New Regulations in China’s Online Gaming Industry, China Briefing News, viewed 22 November 2023, < https://www.china-briefing.com/news/what-to-make-of-the-new-regulations-in-china-online-gaming-industry/>.

Chiu, C, Lin, D and Silverman, A 2012, ‘China’s social-media boom’, McKinsey and Company

Cyprus Mail (Cyprus) 2021, ‘Why and how China is drastically limiting online gaming for under 18s’, 31 August, viewed 21 November 2023, <https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=a95712d5-0251-3a9c-9e76-ef113d290c71>.

Soo, Z 2023, China keeping 1 hour daily limit on kids’ online games, AP NEWS, viewed 21 November 2023, <https://apnews.com/article/gaming-business-children-00db669defcc8e0ca1fc2dc54120a0b8>.

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“Are media representations of fans as ‘weird’ and ‘overly emotional’ fair? What is your own experience of fandom?”

A fan is somebody who is obsessed with a particular star, celebrity, film, TV programme, band, and they participate in communal activities (Hills 2002). Most of us are fans of something, as long as we are interested in something. There are many types of fans represented in media and the public, such as normal fans, weird fans, and overly emotional fans. Although there are also some normal fans in the media, I still agree that media representations of fans as ‘weird’ and ‘overly emotional’ are fair. In this blog, we are going to see how the fans are ‘weird’ and ‘overly emotional’ on media, and my own experience of fandom.

One Direction’s crazy fans

According to the research (Chin 2023), the study of fans isn’t new, and it is not just about K-pop or K-dramas. One hardly needs reminding that fan audiences have historically been viewed as ‘obsessive, freakish, hysterical, infantile and regressive social subjects’ (Proctor n.d.). The Channel Four documentary ‘Crazy About One Direction’ (CAOD), begins with the narrator, Julia David, explaining that Directioners are ‘simply crazy’ about the band and that the fan culture is nothing less than a ‘new breed of fan’ who use social media to ‘worship their idols’, and ‘go to extreme lengths to get noticed by the boys’ (Proctor n.d.). They are loyal to their idols and become crazy and weird. According to Proctor (n.d.), those crazy Directioners perform their fandom by tweeting the band and often begging them to ‘follow them’ on social media. From One Direction’s crazy fans research, we can see how ‘weird’ they are.

Sasaeng Fans in Korea

Sasaeng are fans of music groups, who have taken their obsession to extremes because nothing says ‘fan’ better than a bloody letter (Iwicka 2018). Sasaeng fans are people who infringe on the private lives of artists, and they are also ‘weird’ and ‘overly emotional’ in media. In Korea, fans usually give artists gifts like soft toys, or flowers during performances. According to my own experience, I have ever heard some of the weird fans put a micro camera in the gifts, to peep at that artist. Besides, they also get celebrity’s phone numbers from some sources or follow celebrities to their hotel room and keep on disturbing them.

On 21 May 2019, EXO member Kai was broadcasting live on Instagram when he was gym. When he wants to leave, there were two sasaeng fan who are stalking him, and waiting for Kai near the gym of his car (Philippines Star 2019). Not only Kai from EXO, but also a lot of South Korean celebrities met sasaeng fans. During 2021, Blackpink member Kim Jennie was the target of a US$30,000 billboard advertisement set up by Filipino socia media influencer, Christian Albert Gaza, who is a self-proclaimed No 1 Jennie fan (Chung 2021). Sasaeng fans are mostly weird and overly emotional, they not only want to stalk their private lives, but also date the celebrities.

✨My Experience of fandom✨

First and foremost, I used to be a fan of EXO member Luhan while I was in primary school. On October 8, 2017, Luhan made an official announcement on Weibo of his relationship with Guan Xiaotong, which was one of my most memorable experiences. On that day, Luhan's Weibo followers dropped by about half and the social media service was down for a few hours. This research demonstrates that Luhan's fans are typically extremely emotional, since they always consider themselves to be Luhan's girlfriend. Some fans will call themselves as 'girlfriend fans' or'mother fans' on social media platforms. According to my fandom experience, 'girlfriend fans' are more weird and overly emotional. If the celebrities they like suddenly expose their relationship, most of them would either hate the celebrity's girlfriend/boyfriend on social media or begin to condemn the celebrity's girlfriend/boyfriend.

Conclusion

Based on my research and experience in fandom, I believe that media representations of fans as 'weird' and 'overly emotional' are fair. They are strange and extremely emotional, yet they like celebrities. If the celebrities do something that the toxic fans are uncomfortable with of, they begin to hate and destroy them. However, despite their weird and extremely emotional behaviour, it is all because of they like the celebrities, but in the wrong way.

References

Chin, B 2023, ‘MDA20009 Week 9 Fandom’, MDA20009 Digital Communities, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne Univerity of Technology, 6 October, viewed 8 November 2023.

Chung, JW 2021, From stalking to date requests: 5 times diehard K-pop fans went too far, South China Morning Post, viewed 11 November 2023, <https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3155816/5-k-pop-idols-who-were-victims-sasaeng-fans-blackpinks>.

Hills, M 2022, Fan cultures, Routledge, London.

Iwicka, R 2018, ‘Every Breath You Take: Sasaeng Fans’, At the Interface / Probing the Boundaries, vol. 99, pp. 125–147, viewed 10 November 2023, <https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=b28b24e8-2373-3530-8d04-7355f54fe6c2>.

Philippines Star (Manila, Philippines) 2019, ‘EXO’s Kai exposes alleged “sasaeng” fans’, 21 May, viewed 11 November 2023, <https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=8adcf75c-6a0a-3b75-a957-1370b7abae6d>.

Proctor, W n.d., Chapter 6 A New Breed of Fan?: Regimes of Truth, One Direction Fans and Representations of Enfreakment, viewed 10 November 2023, <https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/83943346.pdf >.

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‘Is social media useful in spreading information on Covid-19 in Malaysia or your home country?’

Older media, like newspapers and other publications, are gradually being replaced by more and more new social media platforms. According to Hussin, Rahman, and Azudin (2021), the government of Malaysia has been using various social media platforms to spread messages to the public, while staying current. Social media use has expanded, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is undoubtedly helpful in spreading awareness of the virus in Malaysia. The government uses social media during the pandemic to provide the most recent information, data on daily cases, and advice on safety precautions. Social media use during the COVID-19 shutdown may have some negative aspects, though.

Daily case Information

We are not permitted to leave the house until further notice during COVID-19. Our daily status and whether our city is in a red zone, yellow zone, or green zone is announced by the government every day. Certain platforms share information on social media when the government makes an announcement about it. Following that, we spread the word about the news on our social media accounts so that a larger audience may view it. As a consequence of people talking to one another, this outcome demonstrates how effective social media is at spreading information about COVID-19 in Malaysia.

In addition, we are unable to attend school because of COVID-19, and we are unsure of when we will be able to return. On the other hand, because social media is so effective at spreading information, everyone will know as soon as the government announces that we may return to school.

Furthermore, even though it is not allowed for us to leave the house, we still have to go grocery shopping. A lot of businesses had to temporarily close during the pandemic due to workers having direct contact with Covid-19 cases or customers who had previously visited such locations after getting the virus. We can easily determine whether or not we have close touch with them once we go out. Because social media will play an important part in the information's spread.

Types of Vaccines

We may also find out more about the Covid-19 vaccinations available in Malaysia through social media. Following the government's announcement during the pandemic that vaccinations are now available, several bloggers started sharing topics related to vaccines, such as the differences between the various vaccines, which Covid-19 vaccines are recommended, side effects of the Covid-19 vaccines, and the number of vaccines that are available.

Fake News

Nonetheless, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of fake news was spread over social media. Many spread fake news throughout the outbreak, such as "Today got a new virus", “Start from tomorrow no more MCO”, "Today got more cases", and similar rumours. There are false reports concerning vaccinations when we need to take the vaccine. Fake news is constantly being circulated on social media, which may contribute to public tension, worry, and panic, as well as vaccination phobia. Our Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin arrested several people or groups for spreading false information on Covid-19 and the Proclamation of Emergency (Kkd.gov.my 2023) in an effort to stop the spread of false information.

However, a number of people continue spreading fake news. Even if a piece of news may have had a lot of views, we still need to be able to determine if it is real or fake. The public was thus advised by Zahidi to utilise the sebenarnya.my portal and KKMM Quick Response Team alerts to verify the veracity of articles of news and to report any false news that concerns public or national interests by sending it to sebenarnya.my/salur/ (Kkd.gov.my 2023).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I personally believe that social media is useful in Malaysia for spreading information about COVID-19 in light of the previously shown reasons. The usage of social media is growing every day, and we also rely heavily on it for information during pandemics. Needless to say, it is not only Malaysia; because the social media has become so popular and it is so useful in our everyday lives, I believe that a lot of other countries are also using it for spreading information on COVID-19. Finally, remember to verify if the information we obtain from social media is real or fake.

References

Hussin, R, Rahman, SH & Azudin, N 2021, ‘Social Media Approach to Crisis Communication during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis from Malaysian Perspective’, Ulum Islamiyyah, vol. 33, no. S5, pp. 77–88, viewed 27 October 2023, <https://uijournal.usim.edu.my/index.php/uij/article/download/404/242/1232>.

Kkd.gov.my 2023, ‘Spread Of Fake News Cases Down By 83% During MCO 3.0 - Deputy Minister’, 15 June, viewed 29 October 2023, <https://www.kkd.gov.my/en/public/news/19175-spread-of-fake-news-cases-down-by-83-during-mco-3-0-deputy-minister>.

Abdul Rashid, A, Mohamad, I & Mohd Haris, AF 2021, ‘The Role of Social Media in Making an Impact to Health Knowledge and Behaviour on COVID-19 in Malaysia’, Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 155–157, viewed 28 October 2023, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8260071/>.

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‘Do memes provide a useful way of understanding politics?’

Before we get into our topic, what exactly is a memes? These days, memes have grown in popularity. A meme, in my opinion, is a piece of information that is hilarious, goes viral on the internet, and may be remixed and changed over time. These are also the main elements that define a meme. As to Pettis's (2018) study, Richard Dawkins provided the initial definition of the term "meme" in his book ‘The Selfish Gene’. The term "memes" was first used by Dawkins (1976) to describe the transmission of ideas virally. Memes are similar to biological "genes" in that they are self-replicating and convey information, opinions, perceptions, and beliefs that are shared across individuals (Kasirye 2019). Dawkins defined a meme as any unit of culture that might be copied and transmitted among humans; examples of such units of culture include popular songs, fashion trends, or religious traditions (Pettis 2018). Dawkins did not define memes only as pictures and videos.

Do memes provide a useful way of understanding politics?

Even though memes might be a fun method to share knowledge, they are not a reliable tool for understanding political topics in their entirety. For what reason? Memes frequently employ humour, satire, or exaggeration to express a point; it is impossible to determine if the content is real or fabricated. It could also include bias from the author. For instance, if I dislike a politician, my memes will highlight all of their flaws, even if they are good politicians overall. However, it also offers a useful way of knowing politics, as shown in the memes below. Through this meme, teens will know that who is our Prime Minister and what happen between them.

Memes provide a useful way of understanding politics because of the funny point, it can attract teenagers easily, compared to news. It can serve as a gateway for young people to become more politically aware and involved.

Simplified Political Messaging

Besides, the complexity of political messages is another reason why the majority of people in today's society don't fully understand politics. Political information is more widely available to the general public because to memes, which frequently create complicated political messaging into formats that are easy to understand. For instance, the government usually makes announcements through news or videos during the MCO time. Personally, I am lazy to bother watching these announcements, especially because the most of them are in Bahasa Melayu. Because of memes, they made the announcement in this instance easier for me to understand. Memes need to be humorous and relatable, like I already stated. On these two main components, they simplified political message, people began to share with their friends, and the general public began to understand politics. However, this can also lead to the dissemination of false information or misinformation due to the bias of the authors.

Impact of Politics Memes

In 2019, the government officially announced that the voting age would be lowered from 21 to 18 years old. But when it comes to voting, memes could have an impact. Since those teens have minimal political knowledge, they will select politicians who frequently appear in memes. Participants may also use an anonymous account to publish their own memes in order to market themselves and make teens remember them. In the book "Memes in Digital Culture," Shifman explains how memes were effectively used in the US election of 2008. Because to memes, Obama received around 70% of the vote among Americans under 25 in the 2008 US presidential election (Oakes 2020). Politicians may create humorous content and advertise a nice, friendly image to the public by using memes. They will be able attract more teenagers to vote for them if they use this strategy.

Conclusion

Memes, in my opinion, can help us understand politics, but only if we are able to identify the difference between information that is true and that is fake. Political memes may make politics easier for pupils to recognise and comprehend than heavy textbooks, especially for those taking history exams. Additionally, because of its hilarious element, which makes politics less boring, and since it is simple to attract people in, it is also a helpful approach to learn about politics.

References

Dawkins, R 1976, The Selfish Gene , download.booklibrary.website, viewed 19 October 2023, < https://download.booklibrary.website/the-selfish-gene-richard-dawkins.pdf>.

Kasirye, F 2019, ‘THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POLITICAL MEMES AS A FORM OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONGST MILLENNIALS IN UGANDA’, Journal of Education and Social Sciences, vol. 13, no. 1, viewed 20 October 2023, <https://www.jesoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/KC13_032.pdf >.

Limor Shifman 2014, Memes in Digital Culture, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, viewed 20 October 2023, <https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=348695e0-233d-3fc5-9070-95351505ffab>.

Oakes, A 2020, How has social media changed the US presidential election?, New Digital Age, viewed 21 October 2023, <https://newdigitalage.co/social-media/how-has-social-media-changed-the-us-presidential-election/>.

Pettis, B 2018, ‘Pepe the Frog: A Case Study of the Internet Meme and its Potential Subversive Power to Challenge Cultural Hegemonies’, Scholars’ Bank (University of Oregon), University of Oregon, viewed 17 October 2023, <https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/24067/Final%20Thesis-Pettis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y>.

Shifman, L 2013, ‘Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling with a Conceptual Troublemaker’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 362–377, viewed 20 October 2023, < https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/18/3/362/4067545>.

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‘Is blogging still relevant in the age of TikTok and Instagram?’

What is a blog? I believe that most of the youngsters now do not know what it is. The word blog is a combined version of the words “web” and ‘log” (Weiner 2023). A blog is like an online diary or online journal, following a blog is like getting to know someone or watching their life just like watching a television series. There are many types of blogs, like food blogs, travel blogs, lifestyles blogs, health and fitness blogs, sports blogs, fashion and beauty blogs, and others.

Back to our topic, is blogging still relevant in the age of TikTok and Instagram? I would say yes, blogging is still relevant in the age of TikTok and Instagram. Granted that most people now are using TikTok and Instagram, but according to the research (van Dijck 2013) every single day, millions of individuals interact through social media. In December 2011, 1.2 billion users worldwide, 82 percent of the world’s Internet population over age 15 logged on to a social media site, up from 6 percent in 2007 (van Dijck 2013).

Nowadays, many people still use blogs, not only self-publishers, journalists, writers, marketers, and businesspeople also using blogs. Blogs are a powerful tool for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Businesses can post blogs with some keywords to help them grow the flow.

The length of the content we write is one of the most important SEO variables in 2020 for ranking highly. According to Rioja (2020), if we write a blog article that we want to rank, we need to make sure we are going into as much detail as possible. If we did not write at least 1500–2000 words per post, we would not rank. The ability to post long-form content is a benefit of blogging in this situation. The Instagram caption length restriction is 2200 characters, which is roughly 338 to 440 words. Instagram posts short-form information as compared to blogging, thus we are limited in how detailed we can make our captions. Because of the word limit of social media, users do not have enough space to introduce themselves in detail, whereas in blogs, users can present themselves more comprehensively. Therefore, blogs remain an indispensable platform.

The fact that blogging is still important in the era of TikToks and Instagram is also due to the wide range of content. Text, photos, videos, graphics interchange formats, and other types of media can all be included in blogs. We are limited to choosing between posting pictures or videos on Instagram and TikTok, though. Furthermore, we are only allowed to upload ten images in each Instagram post, and videos can only be one minute in duration. We may upload the video as a reel if it lasts longer than one minute, however, only one video can be posted for each reel post. Blogging also can be a digital diary. As we mentioned before, because of the word limit, we cannot express our emotions. In the age of TikToks and Instagram, many people use blogs to record their lives, just like a diary. Furthermore, there are many ways to earn money from our blogs. Some of the most popular ways to monetise include offering content by subscription, display advertisement, affiliate marketing, sponsorship, online courses, and eBooks (Shwake 2023). These monetised ways are quite easy compared to earning money on Instagram and TikToks. Instagrammers and TikTokers earn money in a few ways such as setting up an online shop, partnerships with other businesses, or live streaming. For me, we can earn money from blogs in a cosy and freedom style, as many people also earn money from their blogs, plogs, and vlogs. Instead of using Instagram or TikTok, most of them still choose to blog because it offers multiple monetisation avenues.

Lastly, despite TikTok and Instagram, blogging is still relevant today. Blogging is still vital even if many new social media platforms have grown up and may even be trying to mimic blogs. Additionally, a lot of people say that blogs are the ideal medium for expressing our emotions and making money. Also, I believe the blog is a great place for kids to improve themselves, as there is a lot of unhealthy content on TikTok and Instagram. I would not say there is not any toxic stuff on blogs, but as of right now, I have not seen any.

List of References

Jill Walker Rettberg 2013, Blogging, 2nd Edition., John Wiley & Sons, viewed 1 October 2023 <https://swinburnesarawak.instructure.com/courses/839/files/73195/download?verifier=7BsJ2Kl9b5O6ujtXzoGnueJ327TJYLfniNv80uSO&wrap=1>. Rioja, A 2020, What is SEO? Learn the Basics of Search Engine Optimization [2020], alejandrorioja.com, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://alejandrorioja.com/what-is-seo/>. Shwake, E 2023, How To Monetize a Blog in 2023 in 7 Effective Steps, Wix Blog, viewed 30 September 2023, <https://www.wix.com/blog/how-to-monetize-blog#:~:text=There%20are%20many%20ways%20to>. van Dijck, J 2013, Engineering Sociality in a Culture of Connectivity, Oxford University Press, New York, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=457be821-4029-3b2e-87da-72784dc1f978>. Weiner, A 2023, What is a blog? Definition, types, benefits and why you need one, Wix Blog, viewed 1 October 2023, <https://www.wix.com/blog/what-is-a-blog>.