China Social Science Review

No.1, 2022

Identification and Performance: A Study of Fan Culture in the Internet Era

(Abstract)

Zheng Xiqing and Tan Jia

With the further development of the entertainment industry, China’s “fan economy” is becoming an integral part of mass culture. China’s traffic-driven fan economy and entertainment market, plus the fan ecology’s dependence on Internet capital and big data algorithms, form a unique cultural phenomenon. In order to study this culture, with its strongly contextual nature, we should expand existing research dimensions, include technological and economic factors, and promote research in terms of popular culture and the actual existing and active communities on Internet platforms so as to gain a deeper insight into the evolution of fan culture and social connections. This will make the study of fan culture more relevant to current Chinese social realities and cultural context.