(Im)mobility and performance of emotions: Chinese international students’ difficult journeys to home during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This article examines mediated performances of emotions by Chinese international students in their transnational journeys returning to China during the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the role of mobile media in helping students cope with their cross-border (im)mobility and symbolic immobility. By thematically analyzing 36 self-representational videos produced by returning Chinese students on a burgeoning mobile media platform Douyin, we identify 5 overarching themes of emotional performance: fear, pride, gratitude, shame, and solidarity. We propose that mobile media has the potential to create a hybrid space that witnesses and elicits empathy for the hardship experienced by marginalized mobile groups during the global pandemic. Mobile media, by enabling simultaneous communication, amplifies the sensation of belonging in times of isolation and ambiguity and offers dialogic venues for disparate groups across geographical and socioemotional distances. Our findings suggest the vulnerability of mobile communities in the event of a global pandemic, and the affordances of mobile media in confronting and resolving such precarity. We call attention to the intersections of mobile communities and mobile media amid the global pandemic, particularlyon the experiences and performances of emotions in hybrid spaces.

COVID-19 now and then: Reflections on mobile communication and the pandemic

“… Deshbandhu and Sahni (2022) also conducted interviews with the participants in the WhatsApp group, but in addition included an autoethnographic description of the group's formation before the pandemic, and textual analysis of the group's chat content to chart the challenges faced by study participants. Similarly, He and Zhang (2023) conducted a visual data analysis of the short videos posted by Chinese international students on the mobile platform Douyin about their transnational journeys returning to China. Andrade and Nery Filho (2022) did not conduct interviews, but instead sent out an online survey.…”

“…The pandemic did not only impact mobile communication at a local level. In “(Im)mobility and performance of emotions: Chinese international students’ difficult journeys to home during the COVID-19 pandemic,” He and Zhang (2022) explore the transnational (im)mobility of Chinese students who were initially stuck abroad and then managed to return to China. The authors analyze these students’ mobile communication practices through the Douyin app, a Chinese version of TikTok .…”

“… He and Zhang (2022 ) report that international Chinese students felt anxiety, fear, shame (in feeling as though they were a burden to their home country), but also national pride, security, relief, excitement, gratitude to medical workers, and solidarity for their communities. They situate emotion as an integral aspect of transnational mobility and mobile communication, emphasizing the relevance of using a mobile app as an emotional resource, long-distance care, and personal networking.…”

“…This is similar to what happened with Chinese international students. As He and Zhang ( 2022 ) demonstrate, a sense of nationalism was also embedded in Chinese international students’ feelings about homecoming. These students felt solidarity and compassion for their communities and followed the strict public health measures to avoid getting infected, which included traveling with full body suits and personal protective equipment, such as mask and goggles, because they didn’t want to become a “burden” to their homeland.…”

“…In addition to networks and infrastructures being relational to culture, Coleman and Mari (2023) explain that mobile media enhance relationality as they extend our intimate relationships—not just connectivity. This can be seen both in He and Zhang's (2022) account of Chinese international students who use Douyin to support one another during their journey back to their homelands, as well as in Deshbandhu and Sahni's (2022) analysis of cricket players using WhatsApp as a site for care and information about India's dire second wave of COVID-19. In fact, Yu et al’s (2023) account of older adults in Wuhan during the pandemic reflects the need for care that is mobile and networked, especially when face-to-face care was not possible.…”