Will Digital Inclusion Enhance Social Inclusion

The application of digital technology and the accelerated global flow of talents,capital,information and materials have facilitated the transformation of contemporary society from a"social society" to a "mobile society"[1]The "New Mobilities Paradigm" highlights the significance of connecting studies of digital inclusion with those of social inclusion.Especially in today’s accelerating urbanization process in China,the specific role of digital technology integration on the social integration of the floating population needs to be explored.Against the backdrop of WeChat becoming the primary platform the flowing population utilize to connect with each other and the competition for talents increasingly fierce in China,this study examines the effects of flowing population’s WeChat use upon their regional identity,professional identity and status identity and the corresponding role played by intergroup communication.Adopt the method of respondents driven sampling(RDS),on the basis of traditional snowball sampling method,combining with social network analysis theories and methods to recruit respondents.A survey of 599 white-collar migrants in Fuzhou and Xiamen indicates that new immigrants WeChat use to the community directly and positive influences on the regional identity,and intergroup contacts online and offline intergroup contacts to the white-collar migrants has a negative role in promoting regional identity and intergroup contacts online and offline intergroup contacts in WeChat use,which plays a partial mediation effect;The use of WeChat has a direct and positive influence on the professional identity of this group,while the online and offline intergroup interactions have a negative effect on the regional identity of white-collar migrants.The online and offline intergroup interactions play a part of mediating effect in the influence path of the use of WeChat on the regional identity of whitecollar migrants.The use of WeChat could not significantly affect the status identity of whitecollar migrants,indicating that its influencing factors and influencing paths need to be further explored.The positive effect between WeChat use and professional identity and regional identity reaffirms the positive influence of digital inclusion over social inclusion,and intergroup contacts for white-collar migrants regional identity and the reverse influence professional identity is an indication of the depth of immigrant groups with local residents and obtained the degree of support in the process of communication is the key factor for residence will affect the white-collar migrants.These findings reaffirm the influence of digital inclusion over social inclusion,the necessity of including population characteristics and internal relationship characteristics of social identity into consideration while predicting the effects of WeChat use,along with more endeavors in exploring alternative mediators through which WeChat use affects regional identity,professional identity and status identity.