Social Support via WeChat? Explorations of Chinese Rural–Urban Women’s Happiness

Employing a social support perspective allows us to examine the experiences of migrant women in assembly lines using WeChat to explore the relationship between social support and their subjective well-being. Th paper takes advantage of the digital ethnography method to investigate Chinese rural–urban women using WeChat in Tianjin, China. Utilizing a snowball sampling approach to search for 47 interviewees, this study conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews. The research discovered that activities organized by companies, digital information, and virtual communication, to some extent, provide Chinese migrant women with social support, consequently positively influencing their subjective well-being. It is undeniable that the use of WeChat seems to conceal the inequality, imbalance, and many other issues behind this phenomenon. Even so, this discovery will help researchers investigate migrant women’s urban inclusion and mental health in the future.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Social Sciences
Published
2025-02-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14030123
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Health disparities and outcomes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.33
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Social Support via WeChat? Explorations of Chinese Rural–Urban Women’s Happiness

Linxin Wang
2 citations
Social Sciences
Health disparities and outcomes
4.33
article

Social Support via WeChat? Explorations of Chinese Rural–Urban Women’s Happiness

Linxin Wang
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Employing a social support perspective allows us to examine the experiences of migrant women in assembly lines using WeChat to explore the relationship between social support and their subjective well-being. Th paper takes advantage of the digital ethnography method to investigate Chinese rural–urban women using WeChat in Tianjin, China. Utilizing a snowball sampling approach to search for 47 interviewees, this study conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews. The research discovered that activities organized by companies, digital information, and virtual communication, to some extent, provide Chinese migrant women with social support, consequently positively influencing their subjective well-being. It is undeniable that the use of WeChat seems to conceal the inequality, imbalance, and many other issues behind this phenomenon. Even so, this discovery will help researchers investigate migrant women’s urban inclusion and mental health in the future.

Social SciencesVol. 14(3)
Cardiff University (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Health disparities and outcomes
4.33
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Social Support via WeChat? Explorations of Chinese Rural–Urban Women’s Happiness — Linxin Wang · Social Sciences (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS