The Social Attitude to Genetically Modified Crops in Contemporary China:

a Data Analysis of 1800 Weibo Users

Hui YuSociology Department of Fudan Univer

sity, Shanghai

Introduction

• Thirty years of reform and opening up in China :

• Chinese social structure changes, especially economic and social structure;

• Class differentiation;• Interests diversification;

Great changes have taken place in social psychology, such as relative deprivation

The origin of this study

Social attitudes polarized to some extent.

Social media has become an important expression platform of social attitudes.

•

How about people's social attitude in various aspects?Corruption, house price, redistribution, environmental protection, hukou and so on.

what are the major factors that influence people's social attitude in present China?

it is a complex question

People's social attitude changed and polarized

During the past few years, we concentrated on the sub group’s social attitudes in social media.

Method

People's social attitude information collected via social media(Weibo)

Why it could be possible?• First, a great numble of people can read, expres

s and disscuss with others on the social media.• Second, netizen independent expression throug

h social media reflect their social attitude.• Third, social media provides a way for the wide d

issemination and alienation of social attitude.

Data collection

Probability proportionate to size sampling (PPS)– We obtain 1800 Sina weibo users of 36 social

status groups, recently. Traced blog post fromJuly, 2013 to July, July, 2014.questionnair: 7parts, 345 variables1 month for data collect.

Observational method Content analysis method

Netizens' Social Attitudes in Social Media

Genetically Modified CropsClass IdentitySocial Emotions12 hot issuesand so on

Social Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops in Contemporary China

For Example

Background, two fuse: 1 、 Cui Yongyuan and Fang Zhouzi, from network debate to abuse , then on the court.2 、 CCTV said trace transgenic ( 2014.7.26 )

• Former CCTV television host:

Cui Yongyuan • Fang Zhouzi

Some information of the debate, abuse and the news on the court have been deleted.

GM crops debates in China

The GM crops

• supporters: we believe in science, or shortage of food need GM crops, and so on.

• opponents: some support maybe bought by interest group.

• The subtext is that the interest group grow stronger in the process of reform and opening up,

In social media, GM crops not science or technology problem

At present:• Rumors proliferating.• Anti-GM crops in social media became someone's vocati

on.• Some people attempt to be well-known through reverse

GM crops in social media.• Government afraid to be related to GM crops.• The work activity of researches who major in GM crops h

ave been cracked down.

Measurement

• What is the social attitude of weibo users toward genetically modified crops?– support;– reverse;– unable to determine.

• Other influences have been measured in our questionnaire.

Results of the exploratory analysis

Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops(N=287)

AttitudeFrequenc

y

Percent

（%）

Val idpercent

（%）

Support 51 2.8 17.8

Reverse 236 13.1 82.2

Unable to

determine

1513 84.1 ——

Total 1800 100.0 100.0

more opponents than supportors

Age and Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops

Atti tude after1990

between1980-1989

between1970-1979

between1960-1969

before1960

Support3

27.3%1112.1%

912.7%

512.8%

522.7%

Reverse8

72.7%8087.9%

6287.3%

3487.2%

1777.3%

Total11

100.0%91

100.0%71

100.0%39

100.0%22

100.0%Pearson Chi -Square=3.403，df=4，si g. (2-si ded)=0. 493

No significant correlation between age and attitude toward genetically modified crops.

Living Area And the Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops

• No significant correlation between living area and attitude toward genetically modified crops.

Atti tude East middlepart West NortheastHongkong,

Macao, Taiwan,

Abroad

Support3517.1%

619.4%

418.2%

0.0%

523.8%

Reverse17082.9%

2580.6%

1881.8%

6100.0%

1676.2%

Total205100.0%

31100.0%

22100.0%

6100.0%

21100.0%

Pearson Chi -Square=1.954，df=4，si g. (2-si ded)=0. 744

Education And The Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops

• No significant correlation between education and attitude toward genetically modified crops.

Atti tudeGraduate

and aboveUndergraduate

J unior col lege &

vocational col lege

High school

and below

Support1523.1%

1211.2%

214.3%

0.0%

Reverse5076.9%

9588.8%

1285.7%

5100.0%

Total65

100.0%107100.0%

14100.0%

5100.0%

Pearson Chi -Square=5.357，df=3，si g. (2-si ded)=0.147

Different social status Groups Have Different Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops

• However, significant relationship between social status and attitude toward genetically modified crops in statistic

Atti tude BussinessmanIntel lectual &

technical

personnel

UnderclassParty &governmentpersonnel , civi l

servants

Reverse3186.1%

10876.1%

5393.0%

4484.6%

Support5

13.9%3423.9%

47.0%

815.4%

Total36

100.0%142100.0%

57100.0%

52100.0%

Pearson Chi -Square=8.787，df=3，si g. (2-si ded)=0. 032

Media trust is a key factor

• Food security feeling, political trust and interpersonal trust havn't significant correlation to the social attitude toward genetically modified crops.

• however, media trust significant, trust media and reversal gene crops.

• when controlled other individual characteristic variables in regression model, media trust still significant.

Different Media Trust, Different Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops

• Significant correlation between media trust and attitude toward GM crops.

Attitude Di strust Trust

Support6

25.0%

18

10.2%

Reverse18

75.0%

158

89.8%

Total24

100.0%

176

100.0%

Pearson Chi -Square=4.365，df=1，si g. (2-si ded)=0.037

How about the interaction between social status and media trust?

Significant relation:– social status – Media trust

Table7 Correlation Analysis of Occupation, media trust

and Atti tude Toward GMCrops

mediatrust

Occupation Support Reverse

Distrust

Bussinessman2

22.2%

7

77.8%

Intel lectual &technical

personnel

3

60.0%

2

11.1%

Underclass0

.0%

7

100.0%

Party &government

personnel , civi l servants1

33.3%

2

66.7%

Pearson Chi -Square=5. 748，df=3，si g. (2-si ded)=0. 125

Trust

Bussinessman1

5.9%

16

94.1%

Intel lectual &technical

personnel14

17.5%

66

82.5%

Underclass0

.0%

43

100.0%

Party &government

personnel , civi l servants3

8.3%

33

91.7%

Pearson Chi -Square=9. 998，df=3，sig. (2-si ded)=0. 019

Pearson Chi -Square=12.087，df=3，si g. (2-si ded)=0. 007

In the sample:

• Distrust media, social status havn’t significant influence;

• Trust media, social status have significant influence.

social status would influence people’s attitude toward GM crops, and it’s effect partly explained by the media trust.

Conclusions and Discussion

• Media trust significantly affect people’s attitude toward transgenic, and it's an important factor on the formation of people’s attitude.

Looking Ahead

• It's a exploratory analysis, media trust maybe a key variable that can explain social attitude toward different social topics.

• More work need to be put into this subject.

Thanks!