IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

The Triumph of Shanzhai: No Name Brand Mobile Phones and Youth Identity in China

The Triumph of Shanzhai: No Name Brand Mobile Phones and Youth Identity in China
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Mei Wu (University of Macau, China)and Hongye Li (University of Macau, China)
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 20
Source title: Global Media Convergence and Cultural Transformation: Emerging Social Patterns and Characteristics
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Dal Yong Jin (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-037-2.ch015

Purchase

View The Triumph of Shanzhai: No Name Brand Mobile Phones and Youth Identity in China on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

This chapter attempts to explore the connection between the popularity of shanzhai (no-name brand) mobile phones among urban youth and their social characteristics in contemporary China. Through qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews both shanzhai and non-shanzhai users and selected online group discussions of shanzhai workers, this connection is examined in five realms: political attitudes, practical rationale, social values, interest-seeking and self identification. The findings indicate that the youth’s attitudes towards shanzhai phones are prominently based on practical rationale, followed by their craving for entertainment and fashion. The political orientation of anti-mainstream, anti-authority and anti-brand is not prominent. To use a brand imitation is not so much a vanity issue for social status elevation, as a need of self experience within an affordable means. Finally, young people who are engaged in the shanzhai industry do form their own cycle and build their identity strongly associated with the “shanzhai” both as a business career and political mission.

Related Content

Nitesh Behare, Rashmi D. Mahajan, Meenakshi Singh, Vishwanathan Iyer, Ushmita Gupta, Pritesh P. Somani. © 2024. 36 pages.
Shikha Mittal. © 2024. 21 pages.
Albérico Travassos Rosário. © 2024. 31 pages.
Carla Sofia Ribeiro Murteira, Ana Cristina Antunes. © 2024. 23 pages.
Mario Sierra Martin, Alvaro Díaz Casquero, Marina Sánchez Pérez, Bárbara Rando Rodríguez. © 2024. 17 pages.
Poornima Nair, Sunita Kumar. © 2024. 18 pages.
Neli Maria Mengalli, Antonio Aparecido Carvalho. © 2024. 16 pages.
Body Bottom