Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The construction of online platforms and spaces involves the coordinated effort of countless programmers who work and intertwine with data behind the scenes of the Internet industry. In China, programmers tend to be labeled and heralded as ‘laborious’ by the public. Despite the fact that it remains illegal, many Chinese Internet companies follow a ‘996’ work schedule, which refers to the trend of work beginning at 9 am and ending at 9 pm, 6 days per week. However, Chinese programmers have begun to protest against the ‘996’ work ethic. In this research, we examined the texts in “Pull Requests” part on a GitHub page named 996.icu, a highly active site of protest against the 996 work ethic. Additionally, we interviewed the relevant tech workers to get their feedback to this overtime work ethic. Based on qualitative analysis, this study discusses the issues uncovered from the perspectives of the audience’s agency, emotion, and engagement. On a broader level, this research is important as online protests can reflect the current status of the Chinese Internet industry and the context of digital democracy. By focusing on the Chinese Internet industry, we are able to better understand democratic social media and civic engagement in China and to probe the complex power relations which exist in this social movement.