The influence of Chinese online novels on the values of adolescents information for authors and readers of the journal

Original article

Starting towards the end of the second millennium CE, along with the burgeoning of information technology, people’s lifestyles and work routines have also been subject to rapid change. While over previous millennia, people have generally relied on physical books to gain knowledge, the development of the Internet has greatly expanded the ability of people to obtain information: thus, over a relatively short period of time, the online information network has become the primary means of obtaining information for a majority of people. In this ever-changing information age, literary works are also catching a ride on the information superhighway to develop a new type of literary work – online literature. In recent years, online literature websites try to make use of fragmented reading patterns and short attention spans to meet readers’ needs for convenience through mobile devices. Successful online authors write on popular topics to break down audience barriers and cultivate many loyal fans who now collectively represent a majority audience group [1]. The overall genre of online literature, which is simultaneously created and distributed online, refers to the Internet not only as a publishing platform, but also as a production space, thus excluding other electronic literature published and distributed on the Internet, e.g., in the form of e-books. The popular category of online novels can be broadly subdivided by gender into literature targeted at men and boys, which is known as “male frequency”, and its counterpart targeted at a female audience known as “female frequency”. Typically, male frequency may comprise subgenres such as fantasy, immortal, military, and so on, while female frequency works include ancient romances, as well as urban, campus, etc. Writer and playwright Ma Xiaofeng believes that the free exercise of online literature is manifested in: “The freedom to create topics – write about who you want; freedom in the methods of creation – write what you want; freedom to create content – write how you want” [2]. Although, due to the more direct author – reader relationship, easily understandable content, variety of topics, wide audience and easy access, online novels are particularly popular among middle and high school students, they are also enjoyed by some adults and even retirees. The rapid and broad dissemination of online literature due to its use of the Internet as a medium ensures its continuing relevance for as long as the medium exists.

The form of the novel does not always involve mere entertainment but can even be seen to have a sacred function. According to Liang Qichao, “If you want to upgrade the people of the country, you must first upgrade the novels of the country. Therefore, if you want to renew morality, you must renew novels; if you want to update religion, you must update novels, resume novels; if you want to update the policy, you must renew the novels; if you want to renew customs, you must renew romances; if you want to learn new skills, you must read new novels; even if you want to win new people’s hearts and identities, you must create new novels” [3]. The depth of such concerns appears to be based on the power of novels to influence human thought and action, including potential negative impacts on young people.

The most active users of online literature are teenagers [4; 5]. Among the segments of users of online literature, the youth, including school children and college students are seen as having the strongest consumer vitality, a more open outlook on consumption and a greater desire to read. Being immersed in an atmosphere of learning for a long time, the interest on the part of teenagers in reading literature is stronger than that of other groups; as young people, they are more likely to use the Internet and have a better perception of online products; as children, their life pressure is less, their concept of consumption is relatively open, and the possibility of consuming small spiritual products is higher. For this reason, the huge number of college students represents an extremely important target audience for online literature [6]. This review focuses on the basic situation of reading and consuming online novels by schoolchildren, and also explores the positive and negative aspects of online novels, analyzes the problems that exist in online literature, and puts forward reasonable countermeasures. Conducting the research, the author seeks to ensure that network literary works have a greater positive impact on young people, form the right worldview and moral views in young people, and educate them in a healthy network environment.