Hidden Exploitation And Lack Of Struggle

With the gradual narrowing of the gap between urban and rural development and the acceleration of the "digital divide",third-tier cities and below have become the "sinking markets" that Internet companies are focusing on.Internet technology meets the needs of users in emerging sinking markets,while bringing convenience,equality,and freedom to them,it also exploits the value they create in the process of use to complete capital growth.This research is based on the perspective of communication politics and economics.From the perspective of digital labor theory,it analyzes the characteristics of Internet users in sinking markets,and summarizes their needs for the use of the Internet.By meeting these needs,Internet companies extract their user data,social relationships and the value of working time.In order to understand the specific process of user labor,this research adopts the research methods of online ethnography and interview methods.It is found that the exploitation of Internet companies is divided into three paths: First,the social relationships of acquaintances in the sinking market are used to force the users complete emotional labor,while obtaining social relationship materials and more new users from it;second,user's temptation of material benefits is exploited to complete flexible employment for users,blur the boundaries between labor and life,and squeeze more labor time;third,the entertainment imagination of users is utilized to let them recognize and follow production rules,obtain their behavior data and creative content.In the process,users have been reduced to "digital labor",but have not received corresponding compensation and protection.The results of the questionnaire survey in this study show that digital labor in sinking markets have significantly lower levels of awareness and resistance to exploitation than non-sinking users,indicating that the hidden exploitation is,on the one hand,a successful business strategy and,on the other hand,exposes the digital labor in sinking markets to a harsher and more sustainable exploitation environment.In view of the above research results,this study believes that the Internet sinking market is not a "Brave New World" and requires critical reflection.Laborization should not be at the cost of destruction.It is necessary to improve the distribution mechanism of labor benefits,improve service quality,and ensure social trust.At the same time,it needs to maintain a sober understanding of the survival of digital laborers in the sinking market and provide them with more ways of entertainment Let Internet communication technology truly cultivate and benefit the masses.