Collective Memory of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chinese Social Media in the Digital Age

Each advancement in media technology transforms our way of storing and interacting with collective memories (Hutton, 1993). During the Covid-19 pandemic, a substantial number of Chinese netizens turned to social media as a platform for emotional expression, and these expressions gradually evolved into a distinctive memory of the times. My PhD project will employ innovative mixed methods, including computer-mediated communication (CMC) analysis and cyber-ethnography, to investigate the digital collective memory of the pandemic on Chinese social media. It examines how digital collective memory is constructed and maintained in Chinese cyberspace in the context of a global crisis, and considers the interaction between individual and collective memory. To be specific, the research is guided by two primary questions: (1) How is the Covid-19 pandemic remembered on Chinese digital platforms? To what extent do Chinese digital platforms, under censorship, enable the expression and circulation of dissonant memories of the pandemic that counter or differ from official narratives? (2) What does the dynamic of digital memories related to Covid-19 in China tell us about the nature of digital remembering of controversial events, in an environment where state authorities exert tight control over public opinion? Addressing these foundational questions will serve as a lens through which the dynamics between significant historical events in China and the mechanics of social memory in the digital age can be better understood. This will be the first work to comprehensively analyse the impact of social media on public attitudes and behavior in China at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will contribute to understanding the complexities of social memory in non-democratic societies and provide insights for future strategies aimed at effective communication and public engagement during similar health crises.