The Reconstruction Of Vernacular Publicity In Cyberspace

With the deepening influence of urbanization and modernization,many rural areas in China are facing the problems of "hollowing out" and "atomization",the interaction between people is decreasing,villagers are indifferent to public affairs,and village governance is facing disorder,and reconstructing the vernacular The key to change the status quo is to reconstruct the public nature of the countryside.Rural public space is the place where local publicness is created,but traditional public space is shrinking due to changes in villagers’ production and lifestyle.Mobile Internet technology can break the limitations of time and space,and online public spaces have gradually emerged on this basis.They have replaced traditional rural public spaces and played an important role in tightening social ties again,promoting public action regeneration and optimizing grassroots rural governance,and are of great significance to the reconstruction of vernacular publics.Online public space is based on mobile Internet technology and social media platforms,and grassroots village We Chat groups established on the basis of geo-relations are the most common new online public space in rural areas.Focusing on the new rural public space based on We Chat groups,this study tries to present the process of re-creation of vernacular publicness in the new rural public space by means of field surveys and in-depth interviews.First,the new rural public space based on We Chat groups strengthens social ties.We Chat groups reunite villagers who are "dispersed" and realize the "common presence" of virtualization,in which villagers engage in daily chats and coordinated interactions,reestablishing acquaintanceship and tightening social ties.Second,on the basis of relational linkages,villagers discuss public affairs,and the discursive practices within the We Chat group effectively contribute to the initiation and implementation of public actions.Specifically,the "joint presence" of multiple subjects in the We Chat group allows for the exchange of information and the integration of resources on village public affairs,which later extends into offline public actions and continues to have an impact after the actions are completed.Finally,the new rural public space based on We Chat groups provides tools and venues for the game of multiple subjects and becomes an important field for influencing rural grassroots governance.It helps to form power checks and balances,optimize power structures,and improve grassroots governance.It can be seen that the new rural public space represented by grassroots village We Chat groups has prevented the decline of publicness and reconstructed vernacular publicness in three aspects: social connection,public action and shared governance.