Communicative practices of Influencers of Chinese origin on social media and COVID-19: An observation across Argentina, the UK, and Spain

YIHENG WANG; FELIPE NAVARRO NICOLETTI; VICTOR MANUEL MARI SÁEZ

Asian Journal of Communication

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2024

0129-2986

This work focuses on the digital communicative practices of influencers, as the COVID-19 pandemic has opened a communicational doorway from diverse perspectives and social media emerged as an important tool for people to maintain contact and acquire information.Additionally, the preventive and obligatory social distancing measures have driven us to reconsider methods of communicative interaction. Digital communication as the primary means of connection in the context such as COVID-19 encompasses social interaction, entertainment, and informative channels. These facets usually coalesce within a single space or intersect when the practices of influencers are observed. Therefore, we analysed three influencers of Chinese origin residing in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Argentina, given that China was the initial epicentre of COVID-19, to enable an exploration of more sociocultural diversity.The significance of influencers in disseminating information and content to society continues, according to the observation, particularly among younger demographics. Although their main efforts do not reside in communicating COVID-19 within the context of the pandemic, their contribution indicates a complementary solution to fostering social interaction and participation for solidarity and debunking discourses of hatred aimed at individuals of Chinese or Asian descent.