In 2022, 89% of its population in South Korea were active users of social media, logging 2 hours 27 minutes per day on the platforms. Such was the digital revolution that swept across Asia, bringing along a never-before-experienced level of connectivity and modernization in its wake. It has also ushered in a set of problems that are quite a few notches above being complex, more so for societies deeply seated in the Confucian tradition.
Confucianism is a philosophical system born in ancient China that has deeply influenced the social texture of most Asian countries for centuries. The philosophy of filial piety, social harmony, respect for hierarchy, and collectivism was literally the foundation on which norms for societal behavior have been based ever since. As social media introduced ideals of individualism, unrestricted expression, and flattened hierarchies to these cultures, they were rather frequently at variance with traditional Confucian principles. While social media no doubt brought a lot of benefits towards most Asian countries, simultaneously it has its side effects that continue to contrast with long-held Confucian values, which therefore tend to make the social and cultural problems complex enough for studied analysis.
Confucianism is the philosophical and ethical system developed from the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius that has deeply influenced Asian societies for over two millennia. Some of the key tenets of Confucianism include respective social structures, family dynamics, and behaviors of individuals themselves. Filial piety, or xiào, demands respect and care for one’s parents and ancestors and is a basis for family-centric societies. The concept hé, or social harmony, advances balances of stability and cooperation in communities.
Confucian thought enforces a strict social hierarchy in which everyone should know their place and act accordingly, from familial relationships to governmental structures. Another important concept is collectivism, where the needs of the group outweigh those of individual desires in order to develop a sense of shared obligation and interdependence. These have conventionally been expressed in family structures, educational systems, business practices, and models of governance in Asian cultures. Confucian values still influence social mores, standards of ethics in interpersonal relationships today, as these societies such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore forge their way through the labyrinth of modernization and globalization.
Social media in Asia has grown nothing less than meteorically, with many countries posting adoption rates way above the global average. In 2023, Eastern Asia had a social media penetration rate of 74.8%, with South Korea leading the pack at 89.3%, closely followed by Japan at 82.3%, and then China at 72.4%. Meteoric growth has equally been seen in Southeast Asia, with Singapore posting coverage of 84.7%. Popular platforms vary across the region: WeChat and Sina Weibo are dominant in China, while in other Asian countries, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter still have strong presences.
LINE dominates Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan, while KakaoTalk remains the most-used messaging app by South Koreans. Many of these social media have expanded into mobile payments, e-commerce, news aggregators, and even government services. Most Asian markets have become even more accelerated toward social media adoption because of their mobile-first nature, with smartphones serving as the primary point of access to the internet for millions of users. The digital revolution has had a huge impact on communication, business, and social interaction in the continent, creating virtual rooms where traditional cultural mores meet new ways of expression and connectivity.
The widespread use of social media in most Asian countries has far-reaching implications for family dynamics, which shakes the very foundations of Confucian thought: filial piety. The tenets of respect, obeisance, and care for one’s parents and elders are stretched to the breaking point as large numbers of the young immerse themselves in the digital worlds speaking of self-expression and peer relationships. For instance, “phubbing” or phone snubbing during family gatherings has become such a common phenomenon in China that it has raised a national debate on respect for parents and family. In the same way, across the border, South Korea reported in a 2022 study that 68% of parents believed social media use was having a negative impact on family communication. Paradoxically, this relentless connectivity through platforms like WeChat, KakaoTalk, and LINE has actually brought about fewer face-to-face interactions with real persons within families.
At the same time, there has been an increasing sense of disconnection between generations because of greater exposure to global ideas and ways of life through social media. Smaller family members are increasingly challenging the traditional hierarchies and expectations. For instance, a growing trend among young adults is to live separately before marriage in Japan and South Korea, breaching the usual multi-generational household structures. With these forms of family-centered communication and respect for parental authority challenged, it signals one of the starkest departures from Confucian ideals, where tension can be evoked, and the need to re-think familial-type relationships in this new digital age.
The proliferation of social media in Asian societies breaks down the social harmony that Confucian philosophy is practically founded on. This can be seen through the many manifestations acting so contrary to the mores of gathering well-being and peaceful societies. Social media, with an emphasis on individual expression and personal branding, amplifies voices and opinions that may earlier have been suppressed for the sake of group cohesion. For example, the rise of “keyboard warriors” in China has made the online battles on platforms like Weibo quite heated, often over trivial subjects that have disrupted the Confucian ideal of harmonious discourse.
Much as the phenomenon of “online witch hunts” has become so common in South Korea that in 2008, it saw the passing of a law known as the “Cyber Defamation Law”, a result of the tension between free expression and social stability. The level of cover of anonymity provided on many platforms has served only to embolden people into behaving in ways that actually contravene more traditional notions of respect and propriety. This has been manifested in the increasing incidents of cyberbullying and online harassment across Asian nations, where there was even a 60% increase in cyberbullying cases recorded by schools throughout the Ministry of Education in Japan from 2018 to 2020. Moreover, social media algorithms polarized society more and encouraged insular communities-very opposite the Confucian emphasis on societal unity. Taken together, these developments suggest an increasing tension between individualistic social media engagement and the state of group harmony traditionally desired in Confucian societies as a norm.
Social media’s effects on the traditional hierarchies of Asian societies mark a serious deviation from Confucian respect for the authoritative and the elderly. These have opened up a digital sphere where age, social status, and position are not as compelling, thus permitting the acquisition of opinions from the younger generation and their questioning of established norms more openly than ever. For example, “online peasant rebellions” have appeared in South Korea, where netizens jointly criticize and even successfully put companies and government officials under pressure, whatever their standing. This equalization of social structures has prominent implications in workplace relations, especially since companies like Naver and Kakao in South Korea started to adapt to more equal communication styles, partly influenced by the culture of social media. This is also partly reflected in Japan, where the senpai-kohai or senior-junior relationship is being rewritten by juniors who bank on their digital know-how and online clout. Similarly, China has also seen the rise of “wanghong” or internet celebrities-more often than not, very young individuals of such wide influence despite their lack of traditional credentials and who dare contest the Confucian concentration of authority in age and experience. Asian educational institutions demonstrate how students, through the facilitation of social media, are challenging pedagogic methodologies and curriculum more overtly and making schools reconsider traditional notions related to teacherstudent hierarchies. This shift in momentum is further manifested in the increasing situatedness of reverse mentoring in Asian companies where young employees mentor their seniors in digital competencies, which works its way into upsetting power structures. Both thrilling for innovation and openness, this erosion of long-standing hierarchies treads a delicate balance between tradition and modernization within Asian societies, while it is creating intergenerational tensions at the same time.
Meanwhile, social media can also work as a very strong tool in the continuity of traditional culture, though it has often been perceived as a disruptive force in Confucian societies. There is numerous development of online communities and social media accounts with regard to Confucian philosophy and practices surfacing across Asian countries, which enables dissemination and discussions of traditional values in the digital age. For instance, traditional handicrafts, calligraphy, and accounts of classical literature on Douyin in China have gained many millions of followers; a great many of them are now familiar with aspects of their cultural heritage they had never been introduced to before. Regarding the traditional manners and etiquette YouTube channels in South Korea, several have recently emerged that have gained more than a million subscribers. Such sites ease the way for younger generations in learning about and coming to engage with their cultural roots. Social media have also contributed to the organization of cultural events and ceremonies that keep the important traditions alive. At the same time, in Singapore, for example, diaspora communities may be connected through Facebook groups to some of their ancestor worship rituals. The digital storage of archives and museums, which often use social media to promote their effort, allows historical artifacts and documents shedding light on the Confucian heritage to be opened for mass access. The viral nature of social media has also rekindled interest in traditional arts; witness the sudden popularity of guochao (national trend) fashion, which uses design elements from China’s tradition. These examples show that social media act as a bridge between traditional Confucian values and modern-day digital natives-a fact that could strengthen and build up cultural identity, rather than weaken it.
The proponents of social media, on the other hand, argue that its adoption represents a necessary and inevitable step toward modernization, bringing a host of benefits that outweigh the disruption to traditional Confucian values. In most Asian countries, integration of social media into the economy has fostered growth and innovation by promoting entrepreneurship and creating new job markets. For instance, social commerce in China has shaped retail on platforms like WeChat and Xiaohongshu that have grown the digital economy. Not less important, these websites have helped to connect Asian societies to global networks and ideas and thus promote cross-cultural exchange and international collaboration in substantial ways. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became an indispensable tool in maintaining business operations, education, and social connections in the societies of South Korea and Japan, among others. It proved useful in crisis management. Furthermore, social media has mobilized and given voice to many repressed groups, enriching diverse voices toward the advance of social issues such as gender equality and LGBTQ+, which proponents claim is a natural unfolding of Confucian ideals of social harmony and common welfare. Indeed, in the years leading up to 2011, the government agencies in Singapore have made effective use of social media for public communication and e-governance, increasing civic participation and transparency. For instance, supporters argue that unless social media is widely adopted, the Asian societies cannot join the mainstream of the global digital economy and the information age, maintaining that resistance to this trend is liable to result in economic stagnation and cultural isolation. They add that Confucian societies have been adaptive enough throughout the history, and this adaptability, it is presumed, is indicative of a capacity for integration of social media in societies without eroding the core cultural values. Thus, the digital transformation could ensure cultural evolution, not erosion.
Some solutions and adaptations are being tried in order to navigate this tension between traditional Confucian values and the pervasive influence of social media. In one approach, digital literacy programs are developed that are infused with Confucian ethics, teaching users how to engage social media with respect for traditional values. For example, the “digital citizenship” classes in schools there teach online etiquette based on Confucian respect and harmony standards. In China, a handful of technology companies have taken to testing AI-powered content moderation that leans into cultural sensitivity in hopes of reining in discordant online exchanges. This also means the creation of digital spaces governments and organizations alike, where modern-day connectivity meets with traditional values-think about Singapore’s “Smart Nation” initiative to harness technology in strengthening community bonds and filial piety by creating apps that help care for elderly parents. Not all Asian countries have refused to adopt balanced tech-use policies. Taiwan has government regulations concerning children’s screen time with hopes of saving family communication. Moreover, there is a growing interest in modernizing traditional practices, such as the online worship of ancestors in Vietnam and the online study groups of Confucianism in Japan. This shows that among Confucian societies, digital transformation does not eliminate the possibility of paying respect to traditional values. Cross-generation digital mentorship programs emerge where young tech-savvy people teach elders how to use social media, thus engendering intergenerational understanding and respect. These multi-dimensional approaches hint that thoughtful integration, coupled with cultural sensitivity, Asian societies can reap the dividends of social media while mitigative measures are taken against its disruptive effects on traditional Confucian values.
The integration of social media in Confucian-based Asian societies has brought a cultural tsunami that threatens to change values while making the connecting of views much easier. Disrupted family dynamics, erosion of social harmony, and challenges to traditional hierarchies are also reflective of the tension between digital modernity and Confucian principles. While social media entails challenges to cultural preservation and necessary modernization, it links Asian nations into global networks and advances innovation.
The greater challenge in this digital transition for these societies is how to balance the benefits of social media with core Confucian values. The solutions and adaptations surfacing from culturally sensitive digital literacy programs to technology that reinforces traditional practices across the continent show real possibility for nuanced integrations of new media within the Confucian frameworks. Moving forward, the challenge is how to harness the power of social media for consolidation rather than erosion of the cultural foundation in a way that might forge a new paradigm that harmonizes Confucian wisdom with digital age realities. The daily negotiation between tradition and technology continues to mold the societal norms of these countries, but at the same time, their place within the global digital landscape offers a necessary insight into cultural adaptation in an increasingly interconnected world.
By: Eunjae
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