Young Chinese use digital communications unlike any other country. Telling the story of new China, this perspective provides insight into how young Chinese consumers are expressing themselves online and how they want to be understood. - The Bergstrom Group

1. ONLINE STATUS IN CHINA:
I TYPE, THEREFORE I AM
PERSPECTIVE
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2. INTRODUCTION Blurring personal and
professional, online and offline boundaries, Chinese youth
are showing the world that having an integrated life is
important.
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3. New research by Accenture has asserted
recently that young Chinese (14-27 years old)
spend an average of 34 hours each week
communing on real-time communication tools.
A computer not running a minimum of QQ, MSN
and Kaixin would seem almost defective.
But what is important to recognize is that, at 34
hours a week, the number is almost triple the
average of the other 12 countries sampled.
Chinese also dwarfed other countries' video
game habits (13.4 hours compared to 3.4 for
other countries), online shopping (5.1 hours
versus a paltry 1 hour) and imagining a different
life in virtual worlds (5.3 hours vs. less than half
an hour).
All photos by Zhou Wei
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4. WHAT WE KNOW:
• On and offline are not separate,
just allow for different means of
expression
• Real time and multi-tasking are not
optional, it is the status quo
• Young people often want their work
and personal lives to overlap and
relate
• Being good or first or having the
most all mean something online
• Youth see online lifestyles as being
intergenerational - they can teach
their parents and will pass on their
experience to their own kids
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5. We have been keen to uncover why
online communications are so important
to Chinese youth and to better relate the
value of being connected.
In the following stories, we illustrate what
online status means to young Chinese
and how they have been changed and
enriched because of their online lives.
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6. QQ boasts 1 billion registered
accounts. Does that mean that 1 billion unique
Chinese are using QQ? Not necessarily, the number
represents the number of identities being expressed.
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7. I have 5 QQ accounts now and have been using QQ for 5 or 6 years. I have one that only includes some of
my close friends and I write deep, personal thoughts on Qzone. This intimate blog can only be viewed by
those friends. I also have an account focused on strategies for getting popular on Q-zone. The third account
is one I created as if I were a guy. I have fun with that one, joking about people and pretending I am a man.
I also applied for 2 accounts as if I was a couple. One's gender is a girl, the other's is a guy. These accounts
have easy to remember, related numbers (22, 123, etc.) which I use to play QQ games.
- Genie, 19, female, Nantong
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8. I can hardly live without my QQ because, you know, most of my schoolmates and friends are there, and also I
don't want to give up those games! I have achjeved a high level there. By the way, I pay 10 RMB/month to get a
yellow-diamond VIP service. I am a student now but if in the future, my work didn't allow people to get on QQ or
renren.com, I would get online with my mobile phone. It's important to stay in touch!
- Genie, 19, female, Nantong
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9. All of this is being accomplished with
some truly expert multi-tasking skills. 18-
27 year old Chinese workers report that
they spend 9.2 hours on email, 9.2 hours
on IM, 6 hours texting, 3.3 hours
blogging or microblogging, 3 hours in
virtual communities, and 2.9 hours on
SNS - a total of 33.6 hours per week.
Even though the time spent on email is
similar to the same age group in the US,
tools that are anything less than real time
seem outdated. Chinese want answers,
they want to feel in the loop, they want
to feel important.
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10. I have had my own QQ account since I was 13, and I applied for another account a year ago. I noticed
there were QQ accounts being sold online and an account with fewer digits would be more precious in the
future, so I got that second account for my future daughter.
You know, there is also a ranking system - you get a star after being online for 5 days, a moon after 32
days, and a sun after 320 days. When she is old enough to use it, she will already have so many suns!
She will be so proud of her rare account. Well babe, thanks to your daddy!
- Eric, 24, male, Shanghai
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11. I opened my Taobao seller account and started to do accessories selling online after a year working in
my company, which was my first job after graduation. My boss and I are colleagues as well as friends.
This often happens in some small companies. When we have spare time at work, we take care of our
own farms and restaurants on Kaixin. My boss even allows me to do business on Taobao at work. I take
pictures of my goods in the office from time to time and respond to buyers. My boss even bought some
jewelry from me but of course, I give her a good discount.
- Lily, 25, female, Shanghai
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12. TAKE AWAYS
Real time is a way of life for Chinese, they need to get
news and respond as things are happening. For brands,
helping customers feel “in the know” is important.
Online experimentation is expected. How can you create
options for them to express themselves and try out
different ways of integrating your brand into their lives?
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13. ..
ABOUT US
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14. OUR STORY
Established in 2006, The Bergstrom Group has developed a reputation for
providing vivid customer immersions for brands and agencies. We began our
commitment to China by focusing on youth and have since broadened our scope to
include women and lower tier consumers.
Based in Shanghai, our on-the-ground team of subject matter experts, researchers,
trendspotters and photographers is dedicated to telling the story of new China in a
way that is both authentic and actionable.
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15. GET CLOSER
www.thebergstromgroup.com
info@thebergstromgroup.com
www.thebergstromgroup.com telling the story of new China