Research on the Impact and Guidance of Public Opinion on Weibo and WeChat on College Students’ Value Orientation ()
1. Introduction
In today’s rapidly developing network technology, there have been countless connections between virtual society and real society, and strengthening the management of virtual society has become an important component of social management. With the continuous increase in the number of Weibo and WeChat users, the public opinion and social influence of Weibo and WeChat are gradually strengthening, and the accompanying problems are also constantly emerging. As supporters of Weibo and WeChat, college students are still in the formation stage of their thoughts and value orientations, and are easily guided by negative thoughts and ideologies. Therefore, strengthening the guidance and regulation of Weibo public opinion supervision activities not only has important theoretical value, but also has strong practical social significance (He, 2020) .
2. Impact of Weibo and WeChat on New Media
2.1. Positive Impact of Information Exchange through the Internet, Weibo, and WeChat
In the era of new media, students use Weibo and WeChat to make reasonable demands for hot events or their own interests in order to attract the attention of society or others. The comments and tracking of other online people’s attention to events also objectively promote the positive energy of society, especially those who need to mobilize social forces for search and rescue, disclose the truth of events, protect the personal and property safety of ordinary people, punish evil and promote good Maintaining social harmony has a positive impact. At the same time, the reasonable demands of college students towards themselves or others actively promote the relevant government departments to understand the truth, improve work efficiency, and change work attitudes, all of which play a good role in promoting. The internet has not only become a way for the government to collect social and public opinion, but also has been valued and improved by the government in the social issues it focuses on (Lu, 2022) .
2.2. The Negative Influence of Irrational Internet Speech
Due to the inherent characteristics of the internet and the unreasonable demands of certain individuals, large-scale dissemination through the internet has brought significant negative impacts on the government or relevant institutions. For example, if the public publishes some false claims to the internet for their own benefit, and others make inappropriate comments and reposts on these claims that cannot be verified, it is likely to distort the facts, conceal the truth of the incident, and affect the image of the government. Of course, there are also a few people who use WeChat and Weibo to spread false information and have prejudices against the government in order to attract attention and click through traffic, questioning and blaming relevant governments or agencies. Obviously, improper handling of others’ demands through Weibo and WeChat can have a negative impact. It is not conducive to the resolution of the incident, and may also be exploited by some anti China forces overseas. These are the hazards and impacts brought about by the irrational demands of the people.
3. Analysis of the Correlation between the Dissemination of Weibo and WeChat and the Thoughts and Behaviors of College Students
According to the research and development of the “2015 Survey Report on Media Usage Habits of Chinese College Students” released by the Social Survey Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in the era of new media, college students are constantly using and contacting media, making them an active group of media users. At present, the number of college students in China is close to 30 million, ranking first in the world. A survey found that college students are almost exposed to the internet every day, with over 90% of people using it for more than two hours. QQ, WeChat, and Weibo are the most commonly used media for daily social interaction among college students. Nowadays, college students who have grown up in the new media environment can have more convenient access to a vast variety of information. They have distinct personalities and are more subject to their own understanding and judgment of the world. The diversification of these values and the improvement of the awareness of value subjects have enhanced the self-awareness and confidence of college students, but there are also many hidden worries, such as the spread of fragmented reading, following the trend thinking and other network features (Mo & Zhang, 2020) .
3.1. Characteristics of Weibo and WeChat Communication
In the era of new media, information dissemination differs greatly from previous media in terms of content, form, and impact. If the content is comprehensive and fragmented, the information features are obvious, the participants are numerous and scattered, with a great deal of virtuality and anonymity, and there is a great deal of complexity and difficulty in guiding and monitoring. There is a clear blind obedience and spontaneity in understanding and accepting information, and the influence of spreading content is fast and profound. The barrier free nature of information dissemination on Weibo and WeChat has differentiated the centralized functions of traditional carriers of ideological and political education for college students in terms of time, space, and content, making information dissemination more free, uncertain, and difficult to control. While promoting information sharing, it also has an impact on the ideological battlefield of college students. If not effectively guided, it will inevitably lead to moral misconduct in online behavior, which will affect their future value orientation.
3.2. The Correlation between New Media and College Students’ Ideological and Value Orientations
1) Diversified Values
With the rapid development of the economy and society, the ideological status of young people is showing a diversified trend. The emergence of new media platforms provides unprecedented diverse perspectives for college students. Under the influence of this information environment, as the most active university campus, a single direct value preaching is no longer able to meet the needs of contemporary college students. Different media exposure leads to different ways of viewing things and problems, and changes in behavior; The information orientation of college students shows a clear divergence. In the past, simple campus events such as the quality of cafeteria meals and whether dormitories are equipped with air conditioning could continue to ferment in environments where everyone speaks their own words. The “audience sharing” of Weibo’s discourse power has eroded the authority of traditional classroom models and information directionality to clearly promote and guide ideological and political education for college students. This has enabled college students to find the possibility of becoming a “new opinion class” and stimulated the elite consciousness in young people’s personalities. Under the new media platform, the values of contemporary college students also exhibit diverse characteristics, which are closely related to the progress of the times and economic development. As the most popular and mature media platform for expressing ideas and opinions among college students, BBS has gradually faded and declined due to the seriousness and excessive current politics of the topic. The value orientation of information among college students shows a clear divergence. On public platforms, people usually choose content that suits their “interests” to form secondary dissemination. The personal color of the communicator’s value orientation can be seen from the path of information dissemination on WeChat Moments. When exposed to massive amounts of information, college students no longer blindly follow authority, but submit to their own beliefs and ideals (Wang & Huang, 2020) . The improvement of the consciousness of the value subject has enhanced the self-awareness and confidence of college students. At the same time, behind the fragmentation and entertainment of new media communication, there are also many hidden worries that are impacting the traditional reading habits, thinking habits, and even deeper value orientations of college students. It is the responsibility of social media and educators to promote strengths and avoid weaknesses, and guide contemporary college students to form correct values (Zhao, He, & Yang, 2023) .
2) Value Rationality Begins to Emerge
New media has the characteristics of populism, popularization, and interactivity, which can penetrate into interpersonal and life circles. These communication characteristics can greatly stimulate and awaken the spiritual factors of college students’ Core Socialist Values. By utilizing new media methods and embedding core values, users of new media can gradually accept and recognize them in a subtle way, and can also achieve success in communication under new media. The interaction with classmates on WeChat and Weibo may seem like a silent and nourishing experience, but behind “having love” and “liking” are all positive energy, which is also the dissemination of core values. While enjoying the convenience and fun brought by new media tools, college students are also exploring higher levels of value pursuit.
4. Establish a Long-Term Mechanism for Monitoring and Guiding Online Public Opinion in Universities
Due to the curiosity of college students towards new things, their eagerness to show a sense of justice towards the surface unfairness of society, and their lack of social experience, they are easily deceived by some appearances in society, and even manipulated and utilized by some people with ulterior motives, and make seemingly fair and just “right” behaviors for the country and society, but in reality, they are counterproductive. So during this critical period of college students’ growth, it is necessary to actively guide and help them grow healthily. How to monitor the public opinion that has an impact on the campus and take effective measures to guide them to respond correctly and grow healthily is a problem that current ideological and political management workers in universities should ponder deeply (Zhao, 2013) .
4.1. Transforming the Concept of Ideological and Political Work in Universities
Ideological and political education in universities should keep up with the times, grasp the “ideological context” of college students through Weibo and WeChat, and cannot be limited to traditional management concepts of student ideological work. Instead, it should use Weibo and WeChat to cook the “soul chicken soup” of college students, utilize their advantages of convenience, speed, and wide coverage, cater to and adapt to the characteristics and psychological demands of college students’ information acquisition, and transform the way of ideological and political education. Currently, in the new media environment, universities should build a network irrational behavior public opinion analysis system, establish public opinion collection channels, strengthen the ability to judge and predict public opinion, and improve the intervention and guidance mechanism for college students’ public opinion. At the same time, colleges and universities should find and cultivate a group of Opinion leader of colleges and universities, educate and guide college students’ irrational online behavior, grasp the right to speak, strengthen the norms of cultivating college students’ online behavior ethics, attach importance to college students’ online behavior ethics education, guide college students to strengthen moral self-discipline, cultivate network moral awareness and the spirit of “cautious independence”, and improve their moral personality. Active and effective guidance should be given to students’ abnormal ideological consciousness and behavior, and arbitrary restrictions or blockades should not be adopted. The reasons should be analyzed rationally before active handling.
4.2. Innovative Thinking Management Work Methods
Traditional ways of Propaganda and ideological education in colleges and universities have been difficult to keep up with the pace of the information age and the updating of new media. Only by standing at the height of maintaining the security of virtual space in colleges and universities, attach importance to the political communication and ideological shaping functions of microblog and WeChat. Actively researching new media represented by Weibo and WeChat can seize the commanding heights of ideological security in universities. College student ideological managers should change their traditional ways of responding to the times through posters, symposiums, class meetings, and work manuals, and align with the daily cognition and acceptance of new things by contemporary college students. They should adjust their work methods in a timely manner, and participate in their attention and reflection on events, characters, and some policies and regulations through new online media. They should also regularly discuss hot online events, Master students’ ideological dynamics in the first place, understand their value orientations, and provide targeted supervision and guidance (Zhang, 2020) .
4.3. Conducting Self Education and Guidance for Students
College student ideological management workers should use WeChat to carry out ideological and political education for college students, use WeChat group chat to build a “WeChat class”, improve the scientific management mechanism of WeChat and college student ideological and political education, and build a long-term mechanism for monitoring and guiding online public opinion in universities. Nowadays, it is a common practice for college students to have a mobile phone and follow interested people and events through Weibo and WeChat in their daily life and learning. In the face of college students’ simple minds and shallow experiences, events spread online and the words of others are likely to have an impact and negative inducement on their immature thoughts and values. At this point, experienced ideological education managers are needed to provide guidance and education in a timely manner, indicating their direction. Therefore, universities should provide targeted guidance to college students as soon as they enter the campus, so that they understand that events on the internet should not be rushed to believe or express personal opinions without understanding the truth and true background. For information that cannot be verified, they should not blindly forward or hastily comment. They should also be cautious in following and trusting some “leader opinions” such as big V and public knowledge on the internet. When encountering new things and phenomena, they should communicate with classmates more Communicate and exchange with teachers, enhance one’s knowledge of law and other aspects through reading and learning more, and improve one’s ability to judge and distinguish right from wrong. Managers of ideological and political education in universities can also use real-life examples on the internet to educate and guide students not to blindly follow the opinions of others, to avoid believing or spreading rumors, and to avoid engaging in negative or illegal activities that attract others’ attention.
4.4. Follow Up and Improvement of Internet Related Policies and Regulations
The government and news media should actively respond to the dissemination of online public opinion, establish a sound Weibo public opinion monitoring mechanism, fully leverage the social functions of government Weibo and WeChat, timely disclose information, guide public opinion, respond to hot events and emergencies in a timely manner, and follow up on reports to meet the public’s right to know and eager to understand the truth and progress of the event. Do not leave loopholes and opportunities for public opinion development in emergencies. Effective monitoring and processing of online negative information and comments should be carried out to prevent their arbitrary spread and expansion of influence. Improve and innovate the construction of laws and regulations related to the internet in the new media era, with clear facts and conclusive evidence. We hope to use the internet to engage in personal gain, disrupt social order, endanger public safety, and undermine national interests, and illegal individuals and groups should be dealt with in accordance with the law and in a timely manner, purify the online environment, and provide the public with a healthy, civilized, legal, and harmonious space.
5. Conclusion
New media tools such as Weibo and WeChat have become the main force for college students to understand and participate in society. Weibo and WeChat, due to their various characteristics and the fact that college students are still in the final stage of forming moral character, ideology, and values, do a good job in educating and guiding college students’ public opinion, which is related to the healthy growth and success of college students, the stability of universities, and the construction of a harmonious society. College student ideological managers only need to understand the characteristics and dissemination mechanisms of Weibo and WeChat, as well as the characteristics and manifestations of college students’ online behavior, and establish long-term mechanisms to educate, supervise, and guide them, actively respond to their impact on college students’ moral behavior and values, and thus promote the development of college students’ ideological and political education.