Ju Bei, Dai Hai Min, Sandel Todd L
Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao, SAR, China.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.
Sage Open. 2023 Mar 15;13(1):21582440231160480. doi: 10.1177/21582440231160480. eCollection 2023 Jan-Mar.
The role of social media in a resilient process is associated with the co-constitution of structural forces and users' agency. During COVID-19, how women-particularly low-skilled labor migrants-used social media for empowerment is underexplored. By taking a socio-techno approach, this study qualitatively examines mobile phone-based social media usage among female mainland low-skilled workers in Macao when coping with the pandemic. The enabling yet constraining role of social media has been identified through semi-structured interviews. Social media use is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, social media is appropriated to relieve stress and anxiety, open access to updated COVID-19 related information, and manage contagious risks; on the other hand, it reinforces existing constraints and thus hinders resilience, due to female migrant workers' high risk of addictive social media use and limited information literacy. Moving beyond the Information and Communication Technology empowerment, a more inclusive approach is recommended in the long term to cope with the risks and uncertainties posed by the pandemic.
社交媒体在适应过程中的作用与结构力量和用户能动性的共同构成相关。在新冠疫情期间，女性——尤其是低技能劳务移民——如何利用社交媒体来增强权能尚未得到充分探讨。本研究采用社会技术方法，定性考察了澳门内地低技能女工在应对疫情时基于手机的社交媒体使用情况。通过半结构化访谈，确定了社交媒体既具有促进作用又具有限制作用。社交媒体的使用是一把双刃剑：一方面，社交媒体被用于缓解压力和焦虑、获取最新的新冠相关信息以及管理传染风险；另一方面，由于女性农民工存在社交媒体成瘾的高风险以及信息素养有限，它强化了现有的限制因素，从而阻碍了适应能力。从长远来看，应超越信息通信技术赋权，推荐采用更具包容性的方法来应对疫情带来的风险和不确定性。
