Volume 116

In the context of a digitally saturated society, Generation Z, those born after the 1990s, has grown up immersed in the internet and video game environments. Among these, violent video games (VVGs) have raised widespread concerns for their potential impacts on cognition, behavior, and mental health. Numerous studies have demonstrated that frequent exposure to violent content may increase adolescent aggression, suppress prefrontal cortex function, and elevate physiological stress levels. However, much of the existing literature centers on individual-level effects, with insufficient attention to the regulatory influence of broader social ecological systems and to cross-cultural differences in these mechanisms. This paper analyzes the multifaceted developmental influences of violent video games on Generation Z and to explore the buffering effects of social support in risk intervention. By reviewing relevant literature and synthesizing findings via the General Aggression Model (GAM) and social learning theory, it integrates evidence from neuroimaging, physiological stress responses, and behavioral patterns. The results show that violent video games greatly impair adolescents’ impulse control, sleep quality, and emotional regulation. Nevertheless, family values, school media literacy, and community digital programs play a protective role against risks, especially in collectivist cultures. Thus, effective teen mental health support requires multi-level, socially systemic interventions.

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With the widespread use of social media, algorithms play an increasingly significant role in information dissemination, potentially reinforcing the echo chamber effect. At the same time, the internet has seen a surge in bloggers discussing gender equality issues from feminism to men's rights activism. Yet, echo chambers may funnel users toward increasingly extreme content, potentially fueling gender biases and even deepening societal divisions. As a consequence, this study examines if social media echo chambers increase gender inequality through algorithmic recommendations. The study combined experiments and interviews. Researchers created 16 controlled Douyin (Chinese TikTok’s counterpart) accounts divided into male and female groups that either searched for gender equality content or used the platform normally. Analysis of 800 videos (50 per account) showed active accounts got 258 gender equality videos versus 52 for normal accounts. Normal female accounts received 84% lifestyle content, while normal male accounts got 72% entertainment and materialistic content. Additional analysis and interviews tracked attitude changes to measure echo chamber effects. The findings show algorithms may reinforce gender biases through selective content exposure. This study shows algorithms strengthen gender stereotypes via feedback loops, increasing social division. Key findings reveal algorithms filter content by gender, boost extreme views through engagement rankings, and create separate information bubbles that worsen group misunderstandings. Interviews showed active-search users became more aware of algorithmic bias, increasing by 2.1 points, while normal users increased by 1.3 points. The findings help improve platform recommendations and encourage users to explore diverse content.

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In a consumer society, commodities are no longer primarily driven by use or exchange but are instead viewed through the lens of symbolic value to reflect social identity and cultural significance. Baudrillard argues that ideology is not a neutral tool but rather an image of contemporary reality, creating a self-sustaining simulacrum system alongside information, ultimately leading to a ‘hyperreality’ state—where reality is simulated and human experience is replaced by simulacra. With the development of digital ideology, the restructuring of recommendations, social platforms, and virtual images reinforces this simulated order, organising individual identity, emotions, and desires within the symbolic system. Baudrillard's early concepts of the ‘object strategy’ and ‘seduction’ sought to break through symbolic hegemony, challenging ideological control through irrational, non-productive means, and rethinking the possibilities of resistance and freedom. This theoretical endeavour critiques technological domination while expanding the agency and proactive response potential of the ‘object’ itself. Though it fails to offer positive alternative solutions to reality, it provides crucial intellectual resources for modern technology and humanity.

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Nowadays, Algorithmic technology has already fully penetrated all aspects of people's lives. And perceptions of algorithmic threats in today's academia are still relatively optimistic, there is still a gap in the research on exactly how the irreversible impact of the information cocoon constructed by algorithms is practised on the masses and what the flaws in the crowd's perception of algorithms are. This paper explores the deep logic behind the interplay of the information cocoon through an in-depth analysis of algorithmic technology, information cocoon, filtering bubbles, cognitive construction and algorithmic boycott behaviour. It examines how the information cocoon trains human cognitive construction from the nature of commercial algorithms. The paper also explains the joint role of algorithms in building a personalised filtering system through content and collaborative filtering, as well as the three major paradoxes of the “closed-loop” mechanism between algorithms and users. Finally, it discusses the adverse effects of the cocoon effect on the construction of human cognition and how individuals can resist it. Elaborate on the following topics: the commercial nature of algorithms; how algorithms build their personalised filtering system through the joint action of content filtering and collaborative filtering; the three major paradoxes of the 'closed-loop' mechanism between algorithms and users; the adverse effects of the cocoon effect on the construction of human cognition; and how individuals should resist it. From a logical point of view, algorithms can't achieve invisible regulation without a push from humans themselves.

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Currently, the digital wave is deepening at an unprecedented pace, reshaping people's lifestyles and values. Against this backdrop, Xiaohongshu (RED), as China's most representative social platform with a highly concentrated female user base, plays an increasingly prominent role in constructing and disseminating contemporary female views on marriage and relationships. This paper focuses on this phenomenon. By mining Xiaohongshu content and surveying its most engaged users, the study traces how contemporary young women’s views on marriage and relationships have shifted in the new-media landscape, juxtaposes these changes with traditional expectations, and dissects their underlying drivers. The findings indicate that content produced and disseminated on Xiaohongshu subtly influences its female users, fostering the formation of new female perspectives on marriage and relationships. Crucially, users are not passive recipients of information. They actively participate in content production and dissemination by posting notes, liking, and commenting, forming a highly active and self-reinforcing content ecosystem. This not only amplifies the platform's influence but also consolidates the deepening of female perspectives on marriage and relationships and strengthens group identity. Therefore, the value of this study lies not only in revealing the phenomenon itself but also in its profound practical relevance. It offers both scholarly footing and actionable pathways for easing today’s intensifying gender tensions, making the work acutely relevant to real-world reform.

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In the context of the mediatization society, the cross-field of celebrity capital has become increasingly prominent. The transformation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from a comedian to a political leader provides a typical case for this phenomenon. This study focuses on Zelensky as the research subject and employs the case analysis method, combined with Bourdieu’s field theory and Marshall’s persona theory, to explore the conversion mechanism of celebrity capital in the political field and its influencing factors. The study finds that the “civilization president” persona constructed by Zelensky through the TV series “Servant of the people” significantly enhanced the “exchange rate” of his celebrity capital in the political field. The strategic use of persona naturalized this image and successfully transformed celebrity capital into symbolic capital. At the same time, the intervention of media meta-capital changed the evaluation standards in the political field, making persona a new source of power, and this transformation process exhibits obvious dynamic characteristics, requiring continuous adjustment of the persona as the domain boundaries change. This study not only reveals the key role of persona in capital conversion, confirms the disruptive influence of media logic on traditional domain rules, but also expands the dynamic perspective of celebrity capital research, providing new ideas for understanding image politics in contemporary political communication. At the same time, it also points out that this capital transformation may bring about domain rule alienation, which deserves further exploration.

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