ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the connections between citizens' online behaviour and their offline practices and aspirations. It argues that beyond resistance, activism and participation, unofficial media production and consumption are motivated by individualist aspirations, a quest for enjoyment and for fulfilling personal desires. Technological empowerment therefore does not necessarily enhance artistic and social power but is part of a broader pattern of social change whose influence extends to mainstream media. The chapter analyses semi-professional and amateur video productions in relation to authors' everyday life, mainly in Shanghai and Beijing, to demonstrate how engagement with social issues such as house demolition and urban alienation can also provide opportunities for articulating personal desires and aspirations. The analysis is based not only on videos and websites, but also on every day practices, mainly in Shanghai and Beijing, to investigate how the participating and desiring subjects discussed by Lisa Rofel are empowered and controlled in the post-socialist context, considered as both a resource and a threat.
