{"id":109692,"date":"2020-02-24T13:40:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T12:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=109692"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:43","slug":"i-was-close-to-giving-up-but-a-good-dissertation-is-a-finished-dissertation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/02\/24\/i-was-close-to-giving-up-but-a-good-dissertation-is-a-finished-dissertation\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Without working out I would never have finished my dissertation\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though all Chinese media are censored by the government, the way young people use these media say a lot on how they interact online and trust different types of information. Last month, Qiong Gong obtained her PhD with her dissertation \u2018Social Media Use, Media Credibility and Online Engagement Among Young Adults in China\u2019.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

What is your dissertation about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHow young people use social media and how this influences their trust in information from media and institutions in three domains: politics, health and culture. I then related media use and the trust in information to online engagement, such as: following, searching, sharing and commenting. I compared six different uses of media, in other words: \u2018media repertoires\u2019. A traditional repertoire for instance is the use of newspapers and television, whereas the omnivores use all available media. Using an online professional survey company, I managed to get over a thousand respondents to my questionnaire.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your most important conclusions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were several interesting correlations. In politics, political trust tends to be higher among young people who use traditional media than among young adults who use social media. Also, young people with more omnivorous media repertoires are more likely to trust the government. More diverse media repertoires are associated with stronger political engagement, and social media outlets are an important part of these repertoires. In general, the media usage of young people is related to their trust in institutions and their perceived media credibility. Compared to traditional media, in China, social media have a greater influence on young people\u2019s online engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you end up at Erasmus University with this subject?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from China, where I did a bachelor\u2019s in management and a master\u2019s in communication. When I wanted to do my PhD, I searched online for supervisors and I found mine at Erasmus. I wrote my master thesis on how students use health-related apps and wanted to do more with the media usage of young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media climate in China is very different from the rest of the world. In some countries they believe that social media can contribute to political engagement. Not in China. The government controls all media to the extent that you will not find any negative reports on them. Both traditional and new media are censored, but social media is more diverse. It is more difficult for the government to control everything online, so sometimes certain posts will circulate shortly before they get taken down. And people have ways to bypass the censor by using words that sound the same but are written phonetically, so that they cannot be found.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do we see on your cover?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI made it myself! In the air you see all the different media types, including the ones that you only have in China. At the bottom you see my life, and symbols of all the places where I lived. There\u2019s a combination of Chinese flowers, Dutch windmills, the Erasmus bridge and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai. This dissertation is like a baby to me. The sunflower is very important, it reminded me to stay positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you need a reminder to stay positive?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDoing a PhD is not easy. Mentally and physically it\u2019s very tough. Since last year, the PhD\u2019s have a psychologist we can talk to, but it was difficult to book an appointment because she\u2019s very busy. Last year, I felt too much pressure and I was close to a burn-out. It helped that there were people around to talk to. I also went to the gym 4-5 times a week. And after sitting at the computer the whole day it\u2019s nice to go for a run. Without working out I would never have finished my dissertation.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast May I was very stressed. One of my colleagues told me that this was a sign that I was almost done. She said: \u2018A good dissertation is a finished dissertation.\u2019 That\u2019s why one of my statements is: \u2018The going is tough towards the end of the journey.\u2019 We have a saying in China about a mountain\u2019s top that you have to reach. When you\u2019re there you see a new top. Along the way there\u2019s rain, snow and sometimes a rainbow, or lovely scenery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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