Under the influence of information and communication technologies (ICT), traditional industries in rural Yi communities have undergone profound transformation and modernization, significantly enhancing the residents’ digital well-being. The rural Yi communities possess unique cultural resources, and a core objective of digital revitalization is to leverage ICT to digitally preserve and rejuvenate these cultural assets. This approach aims to promote economic development and social governance in Yi villages through cultural poverty alleviation.
From the perspective of internal information society stratification within rural Yi communities, Yi youth, due to their access to compulsory and higher education, have generally adopted and utilized ICT earlier than other age groups. Mobile electronic devices, such as smartphones, have become integral to their lives, helping them construct an “intermediate world picture” in the process of information dissemination, which in turn aids in forming their subjective world picture (Jiang et al. 2016). Additionally, many rural Yi youth, after completing relevant education and training, consciously use digital media to contribute back to their villages, thus advancing the digitalization process in their hometowns. Consequently, the Yi youth can be regarded as the future digital elites of this region.
The traditional culture of the Yi possesses a certain distinctiveness, representing a unique form of primordial capital for the Yi youth compared to their peers. However, through long-term case tracking of a rural Yi university student in Southwest China, it has been observed that limited digital skills (Rice et al. 2003) and information literacy (Puspitasari et al. 2016) constrain this group’s access to learning resources related to their intangible cultural heritage, such as ancient Yi scripts, Yi folklore, music, painting, folk customs, and handicrafts. This limitation hinders the effective inheritance and dissemination of their outstanding cultural resources, preventing these resources from fully transforming into cultural capital beneficial for individual development.
To address the aforementioned issues, this paper proposes to explore how the use of ICT can assist rural Yi youth in acquiring ethnic cultural capital, based on existing core theories in the field of information poverty and Bourdieu’s capital theory (Bourdieu 1983). The study aims to investigate both the subjective and objective factors influencing this process, thereby constructing a model of the impact of ICT use on the acquisition of cultural capital among Yi youth. Additionally, the paper will explore the relationship and potential pathways for the conversion of cultural capital into social capital within this context, providing theoretical references for the future digitalization of public cultural projects in rural Yi areas. This study will focus on the following aspects: 1. The context, preferences, and specific behaviors associated with ICT use among rural Yi youth. 2. The subjective and objective factors embedded in various usage contexts or individual behaviors, and their influence on the inheritance of ethnic cultural capital among Yi youth, including the theoretical pathways and extent of these influences.
By examining these aspects, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how ICT can facilitate the acquisition and transmission of cultural capital, thereby supporting the digital development of public cultural services in rural Yi communities.
Starting in November 2023, our research team began a case study of a young Yi student from Wagong Village, Luobo Township, Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, who was admitted to a university in China. Building on this case study, we conducted participatory observation within the university’s Yi student association.
Using snowball sampling, we selected 25 focus interview subjects from the association and conducted half-hour in-depth interviews with each participant to gather primary data. The interviews were semi-structured, beginning with a specific question and allowing interviewees to elaborate freely. This approach resulted in 25 interview transcripts.
We used Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory methodology (Strauss 1987) to analyze the data. The analysis involved three levels of coding: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, based on which established a theoretical model about the interaction between ICT use and acquisition of cultural capital among rural Yi youth in Liangshan, Sichuan.
Based on the results of the open coding phase, we identified core categories during the axial coding stage and clarified the logical relationships between these categories. Finally, through selective coding, we constructed a mechanism model illustrating how ICT usage affects the acquisition of cultural capital among rural Yi youth. We provided a detailed discussion and explanation of all components of this model.
This study investigates the relationship between ICT usage and cultural capital among Yi youth, focusing on how ICT impacts the acquisition of cultural capital in rural Yi youth communities. By constructing a relevant mechanism model, this research addresses the current gap in studies, which mainly concentrate on disadvantaged groups such as farmers and people with disabilities, and predominantly approach the topic from social and economic capital perspectives, often neglecting cultural capital.
Additionally, the practical significance of this study lies in providing information literacy training to Yi youth to access specific cultural resources during the research process. The resulting theoretical model can better assist rural Yi youth in their self-transformation within the information society. By examining the information behavior of this unique digital group, the study links the digitalization of cultural resources to the reproduction and revitalization of Yi traditional cultural resources.
Jiang, Ling / Xu, Qiulin (2022): “The dual connectivity of smartphones: a study on the use of smartphones among Yi youth in Liangshan”, in: New Media Research 8, 24: 22-26.
Rice, Ronald E. / James, E. Katz (2003): “Comparing internet and mobile phone usage: digital divides of usage, adoption, and dropouts”, in: Telecommunications Policy 27, 8-9: 597-623.
Puspitasari, Lia / Ishii, Kenichi (2016): “Digital divides and mobile Internet in Indonesia: Impact of smartphones”, in: Telematics and Informatics 33, 2: 472-483.
Bourdieu, Pierce (1983): “The field of cultural production, or: The economic world reversed”, in: Poetics 12, 4-5: 311-356.
Strauss, Anselm L. (1987): Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.