Unpacking low fertility in East Asia through social media insights
Organizer
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University
Event Title
Document Type
Public Seminar
Date
1-21-2025
Time
11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.
Venue
LKK103, Leung Kau Kui Building
Description
We will explore the intriguing phenomenon of low fertility rates in East Asia, focusing specifically on China, Japan, and South Korea. We will present a novel approach that leverages social media data to analyze online discussions surrounding childbirth and parenting in these countries. Using advanced natural language processing and machine learning techniques, we will conduct thematic and sentiment analyses to uncover the key topics and emotional tones present in these online conversations. Our findings reveal that discussions primarily revolve around the financial burden of raising children, the perceived benefits of having children, and the tension between modem individualistic values and traditional collective values, including gender roles. Notable differences among the three countries exist and regional socioeconomic indicators are connected to those different sentiments towards childbirth and parenthood.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Zhou, M. (2025, Jan 21). Unpacking low fertility in East Asia through social media insights [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/videos/977/
Additional Information
Speaker
Dr. Muzhi Zhou is an Assistant Professor in the Urban Governance and Design Thrust at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, supported by the European Research Council. She has expertise in the field of gender and family, life course and digital inequality. Her recent work focuses on how social inequalities are reflected in the digital/virtual society. Her work has been published in top journals such as Gender & Society, Population and Development Review, and Chinese Sociological Review.