Abstract
The paper is a report on the study of Internet use and migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). First, the paper illustrates that educational attainment is a significant factor in determining the type of Internet use that appeals to migrant workers. Second, it points out that both work-oriented and entertainment-oriented uses of the Internet have a positive influence on migrant workers’ jobs and social lives in the PRD. Access to work-related information improves their employment opportunities, while the various means of entertainment provide relaxation. The online chat and the virtual community provide migrant workers with emotional support and a strong sense of their local identity. The Internet café and online games allow migrant workers to relieve the pressures of work and passively challenge the power hierarchy in the modern factory regime. The paper concludes that the Internet use has become the integral part of the city lives of migrant workers in the PRD.
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Notes
See National Bureau of Statistics of China: 2003. The fifth population census essays. China Statistics Press, p. 280.
Data source: http://media.163.com.
See Guangdong Statistic Bureau: 2005. The report of corporation recruitment in the Pearl River Delta. Guangdong Statistic Information Web: http://www.gdstats.gov.cn/tjnj/table/gaishu_c.htm
Data source: 2006. The Report of Migrant Workers and their Mobility Status in PRD. Department of Sociology, Peking University.
Ibid.
In addition to the author, the research collaborators include Pui-lam Law, Wai-chi Rodney Chu and Jie Du from the Department of Applied Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shanhua Yang and Songtai Zheng from the Department of Sociology of Peking University, Xiaojing Liu and Ke Yang from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Data source: http://www.nmxxb.gov.cn/nmxxb_list.asp?Unid=3393.
Data source: http://city.sz.net.cn/CITY/2005–12/30/content_178521.htm.
Ibid.
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Peng, Y. Internet Use of Migrant Workers in the Pearl River Delta. Know Techn Pol 21, 47–54 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12130-008-9048-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12130-008-9048-6