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Internet brings cool connection

By Gan Tian (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-09 11:27

Three days later, she met Huang Shujuan, a high school piano teacher who wanted to learn English. Now, once a week, Huang teaches Lu piano for an hour, then Lu teaches Huang English for another hour.

The 3,000 members of this group swap all sorts of skills, like speaking Spanish, playing the violin and learning painting.

Some groups, though, attract people with the same lifestyle.

Amor Mao, 25, a media relations manager, wakes up at 9 am, puts on his Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt, grasps his Louis Vuitton bag, and rushes out of his apartment near Dawanglu. Mao is paid about 10,000 yuan ($1,460) a month but somehow never manages to save more than half of it.

Before visiting Douban, Mao had no clue people like him were nicknamed Henry: "High Earners but Not Rich Yet". But he felt a sense of belonging when he read stories posted in the group "we are Henry".

Since then, he even feels connected to complete strangers. "When I see someone carrying a LV bag in the bus, I immediately think they might be in the group," he says. One thing group members share is an attitude: "We make fun of ourselves to make life funnier," says a netizen called Lonely Planet.

Professor Hu Zhengrong, vice-president of the Communication University of China, has for some time studied the Internet's place in society. He believes modernization has made the world "similar" - people all over the world drink Coca Cola and aspire after LV bags.

However, he says, people also need a sense of belonging and a sense of their unique identity, which some people have found online.

"For some people in subcultures and non-mainstream, they can have their voice heard in online groups," he says. "The Internet provides them with a more private and convenient platform."

Douban groups take this further, perhaps promoting a lifestyle, a certain culture or even a behavior. PR officer Li Song, 25, created Ogilvy, Disney and Pixar groups, all of which have more than 1,000 members. "Going online is a more convenient and effective way of finding people with the same interests," he says.

Just as Zhao Song met his fellow "late birds", so there is now an array of whacky groups: for people who can't help trembling when holding a cup of water, those who love or hate Virgoans, even for those thinking of having a haircut by themselves.

Nor are there geographical boundaries for online groups - finding fellow fans of Bic Runga, an indie singer from New Zealand, would be nearly impossible in Beijing but you can find someone as soon as you set up or join a group.

Professor Hu says what happens online doesn't necessarily stay there - he believes the way people talk and behave online will eventually affect their real lives.

The extent to which people are affected will vary, he says. The nature of some groups is that its members want to stay online, while others want to influence reality.

Douban CEO Yang believes the groups will have a lasting role. "People who visit them feel lonely but nevertheless unique," he says. "They want a sense of belonging but at the same time love their own unique identity."

 

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