| Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service, is one of the most popular social networking sites (SNS) in China after it was launched in 2009. It is the second largest microblogging service in the world following twitter. This article explored how Sina Weibo is served as a platform for individuals to actively participate in social problems. Based on proposal theoretical frameworks, this study intended to examine the underlying reasons for participatory behaviors in social media environment. Through content analysis of dataset from March 15, 2012 to March 30, 2012, the author categorized the major social problems that are discussed by Chinese netizens in Weibo environment and identified different levels of online participatory behavior. This study also pointed out the problems associated with participatory behaviors in social problems. This study concluded with the emphasis on the significance of online social participations in contemporary China. |
