WeChat in general
III . THE BENEFITS OF WECHAT FOR USERS
In the following paragraphs , we will discuss users ’ perception of how WeChat has helped them integrate into society when they move to a new location , how they evaluate the different contents and aspects of CCR CSR ’ s WeSupport platform on WeChat , and what the potential gaps are for improvement . We will present the quantitative results from the worker survey together with what we found through qualitative interviews .
WeChat in general
63.5 % of the users reported that WeChat very much helped them integrate into life in their new location ( Chart 13 ). However , their age , gender , education level or rural migration are not likely to play a significant role in how useful they found WeChat to be .
WeChat made it easier for most users to make new friends and enrich their social life , and for 4 out 10 parents the most important function of WeChat is to stay connected to their left-behind children .
Chart 13 : Did WeChat help with social integration ?
No , did not help
Not applicable 1.7 % 0.2 %
Yes , partly 34.6 %
Yes , very much 63.5 %
Almost all interviewed workers who moved to a new location to seek work said WeChat made it easier for them to make new friends and to enrich their social life . Li Hua
15 is a typical case of a young migrant worker trying to build his / her social network in a place far from home .
The Story of Li Hua
Li Hua , 31 years old , left her hometown in Hubei Province when she was 18 and came to work in Guangdong . At the beginning , Li Hua struggled to make new friends in her busy factory life . “ Later , smart phones started to get popular , and everybody around me started to use WeChat . Very quickly , I managed to reconnect with my old friends back home , and gradually learned how to make new friends on WeChat ... I ’ m glad my social circle is not only limited to my coworkers at the factory ” - Li Hua said .
16
15 . All names used in this report are aliases