Deconstruction And Reconstruction:a Case Study Of Internet Knowledge Production And Dissemination

The emergence of the Internet has lowered the threshold of knowledge production and acquisition,and has at the same time challenged the authority of knowledge producers and disseminators.The production of knowledge is no longer subject to a certain class,while the original systems and structures of knowledge are also "deconstructed" and "reconstructed" in this process.This study takes question-and-answer community Zhihu as an example with an analysis of production and dissemination of online knowledge through case studies of three heated topics that have triggered discussion in the community in recent years.The study demonstrates that both the production and dissemination of online knowledge follow the rule of "taking the subject as the core and deconstructing the grand narrative".At the technical level,the Internet has contributed to the equalization of knowledge production and dissemination among different users.With the change of the subject,the content and the form of knowledge undergo a transformation and will in turn lead to the construction of a new knowledge-based framework.This framework "deconstructs" the original systematic knowledge,rearranges the knowledge units and “reconstructs” new knowledge with a focus on the audience.This newly constructed knowledge is suitable for online sharing,and embodies characteristics of interaction,fragmentation and contextualization.Through in-depth interviews with Zhihu users,it is safe to conclude that sharing online knowledge could enhance one's self-cognition,promote one's self-realization and make full use of one's cognitive surpluses.Nevertheless,the communication effect of online knowledge will also be influenced by one's attitude and choice-making due to individual's cognitive limitations.In addition,it is also worth noting that online knowledge has its own limitations such as fragmentation,superficiality and so on.