| Public opinions on microblogs are a concentrated expression of many microblog users’feelings, attitudes and opinions for social events. Microblogging has reshaped the generation and dissemination mechanism of public opinions, and has become the new center of public opinions in contemporary China. Public opinions on microblogs are playing a positive role in giving people the right to speak, resolving social conflicts and pushing forward political democracy. However, the technical characteristics of microblogs which are very different from other network applications, has also brought about additional uncontrollable factors to public opinions in society.This study analyzed the dissemination characteristics and development of public opinions on microblogs, and came to a conclusion that public opinions on microblogs helps to spread the truth, expand the right to know and communication, promote political communication between citizens and the government, supervise the government, and curb unethical behaviors in society. By using online fieldwork, case studies and other research methods, this study found that there were problems like rumors being mixed, pan-entertainment and expression of extreme remarks in the content and elite "centralization","public trialing" and "majority tyranny" in the transmission. Combined with the context that generates public opinions on microblogs, this study used content analysis, in-depth interviews, sentiment analysis and other research methods to explore deep-seated causes of the problems. In terms of the generation of public opinions, social contradictions during the transition period, the popularities of mass consumer culture, and the restlessness of the network nationalism trend, were the situational factors for the aforementioned problems. In terms of the subjects, the emotional impulses, stereotyping, group polarization, and other psychological imbalance of microblogers, were main factors contributing those problems. In terms of the management institutions, industrial chain merchants’neglecting responsibilities and accentuating profits, and government departments’ neglecting guidance and accentuating filtering were important causes of these problems. In terms of the media platform, the virtual, fragmented, mobile, real-time technical characteristics of microblogs were the objective factors related to those problems. Based on these analyses, combining the current social context and the guidance and management experience of Western countries, this study put forward some ideas about how to solve the existing problems and how to promote the public opinions on microblogs toward rational development. |
