Young women and internet cafés in china: Risks and aspirations in a contested techno-social space

Abstract

Internet cafes in China were booming in the 2000s when interest in the internet was high, but ownership of devices like mobile phones and computers was relatively low. In 2015, China had 146, 000 internet cafes with 20 million daily users. While internet cafes are highly popular among youth in China and play important sociopolitical roles in Chinese civic life, there have been deep anxieties over the risks posed by the pubic techno-social space to young people. Through a survey of young women internet cafe users and interviews with cafe staff, this chapter shows how the introduction of communication technology in parts of China intersects with local socialeconomic contexts, gender roles, and impacts cultural norms and family dynamics. Chinese media reports often portray women in the internet café as internet addicts, delinquents, or victims of male predators, presenting them as the problematic “other” in the male-dominated space even though women constitute a significant amount of labor force working in these community businesses. The chapter discusses the question of inequality and implications for digital divide problems at the local level in China and how this reflects the disparities between the norms about “proper” internet use and social expectations of womanhood in China. It also demonstrates a gap between the public concerns and the authorities’ concern with the impact of internet cafes in the Chinese society.