China's Social Media Changing Society

The growth of social media in China has been phenomenal. Not only are more people getting news from sites like Weibo, China's version of Facebook, they're also posting opinions. In the wake of a several major conferences in Beijing discussing the future of the internet, Dominic Swire brings us this report about how social media is changing Chinese society.

It was a disaster that gripped the nation.

China's high speed trains rolling off a bridge like toys.

The story spread faster than the high speed trains that crashed.

The news was broken by Weibo, China's answer to Facebook. And this is how many Chinese people are now getting their news:

"I think it's a good idea to use Weibo to read news… We can see news here that we can't read about in other media."

"I understand some news are false or misleading... so I just use my judgment. If something sounds right I believe its right."

Social media has impacted other stories, like the case of Guo Meimei. She caused outrage after posting pictures of her luxury lifestyle and claiming she worked with the Red Cross Society. This prompted a public discussion about the role of charities in China.

Derek Ling is CEO of professional networking site Tianji. He was vice president of sina.com, helping it grow into one of the most popular websites in China. He says the internet is changing Chinese society.

"If you look at the time when the internet was first introduced in China, and I was there, and it really introduced a level of information that was just not available before. I think social media is just an extension of that."

Use of the internet is taking off in China like nowhere else on earth. Now the country has over 400 million internet users – more than the entire population of the United States. And many are actively using social media.

Allen Wang is Co-founder of Babytree, a social networking site for young mothers. He says the government needs to keep up with the change.

"I think the government seems to be learning through trials and tribulations and errors – but that's a necessary process – for them to realize what's going on, for them to recognize this is a force they have to cope with. Therefore they better be smarter and savvier in terms of how to actively leverage this outlet to communicate with people all over the country. So I believe the government needs to seize the opportunity instead of resisting or fighting it."

For all the advantages of social media, there's worry false news can also travel fast. A recent opinion piece in state-run newspaper the Global Times welcomes the use of social media, but warns of placing too much faith in news from these sources. Finding the balance will be key to the future of China's media.

For CRI, I'm Dominic Swire.