Connections And Connectivity And In China; Guanxi And The Explosion Of Instant Messaging - The Marriage Of Relational Diads, Group Membership, And Web Based Communications

Abstract

This research explores the reasons behind the phenomenal growth in the use of instant messaging (IM) in China.  The paper proposes that one explanation might lie in the high collectivism, high context communication and the cultural practice of guanxi in China.  On the one hand, current cross cultural research related to China on mobile telephony seems to provide a strong basis for this contention.  On the other hand, the discussion within the literature examining IM within Chinese society appears to be much less robust. However, one could argue that IM provides a unique vehicle for communication within guanxiwang which deserves consideration, especially considering its huge popularity in China.  A cursory examination of initial evidence suggests that instant messaging provides the possibility of high context communication and efficient information gathering which facilitates relationship building and maintenance within the relational dyads as well as group characteristics of a guanxiwang.  One could argue that instant messaging is perfectly suited to the communication needs of these particularistic and personal hyper-social networks in China.