"Functional Alternatives":the Interaction Mode And Cause Of The Interest-based WeChat Groups For The Elderly Migrants From A Domestication Perspective

The tradition of technological determinism emphasizes the absolute influence of media technology on society and ignores the initiative of people in the adoption and use of technology.From the perspective of technology domestication,this article examines the interactive mode of the interest-based WeChat groups for the elderly migrants,and explores the mechanism by which this mode is embedded in the context of their daily life.Based on online observations and social network analysis of the calligraphy WeChat group of the elderly migrants in the W community,as well as offline interviews with 21 elderly migrants,the results showed that the interaction within the Interestbased WeChat groups is a loose and sparse network with three main characteristics:broadcast speech,symbolic interaction,and ritualized interaction.Based on their own understanding of WeChat groups,life needs,and physiological and social conditions,"Functional alternatives" is generated as a concept for describing this interaction mode in the article.The result of selective adoption and use of new media technologies inspired us to re-examine the initiative of the elderly migration in terms of technology adoption,and facilitated the shift of the focus of digital inclusion from skills levels to consciousness levels.