Organized primarily around forms of “network-based affinity,” online communities cultivate shared group cultures and psychological identification. Photo: IC PHOTO

In the digital age, online communities have become pivotal arenas for the construction of individual identity. Their significance extends beyond virtual interaction, offering valuable academic and practical insights into social interaction and identity formation in contemporary society. Online communities are social spaces built upon information technology that enable communication and interaction, existing as virtual environments without physical boundaries. They rely on new media technologies, which accelerate the speed, reach, and depth of information circulation.

Organized primarily around forms of “network-based affinity,” online communities cultivate shared group cultures and psychological identification. They combine the cohesion of traditional communities with the flexibility and autonomy of modern social formations. The virtual environment of the internet offers expansive space for identity formation and creative self-expression. Fundamentally, identity construction within online communities is a dynamic process through which individuals operating in digital fields achieve self-recognition and re-embed themselves into networked society through subjective–objective interactions, multidimensional identity performances, and negotiations of social power.

This study defines member identity within online communities as the constellation of symbols—including behavioral patterns, influence, interests, and values—presented by social media users as members of specific communities. In online community contexts, member identity operates on two levels: personal identification and collective consciousness. At the individual level, users autonomously create and accumulate symbolic resources through digital technologies, presenting themselves in virtual life through markers such as names, behaviors, interests, skills, and influence. In doing so, they construct idealized self-images, activate self-awareness, and shape personal identity. At the collective level, group consciousness emerges from shared needs, beliefs, and attitudes among members.

Scene dimensions of online communities

As a virtual space, online communities display distinctive features in their logic of spatial production. Within online communities, interactional scenes—the communicative arenas structured through the circulation of symbolic and mediated content—serve as channels through which diverse values are transmitted. The regulatory logic of this space relies heavily on negotiation among members, while its spatial representation emphasizes dynamic interaction between individuals and groups. The notion of online community space resonates closely with scene theory. Extending scene theory from physical environments to virtual space, this study identifies three principal dimensions of online communities based on their structural characteristics: content practices, institutional mechanisms and rules, and value expression.

First, the dimension of content practices concerns the production, circulation, and exchange of cultural content in various forms—such as symbols, texts, images, and videos—within virtual communities. This dimension encompasses both expressive paradigms and modes of content production. Online communities function as spaces for the creation, transmission, and exchange of information. In this process, different communities develop distinct expressive paradigms—including logical orientations and interaction norms—shaped by their cultural characteristics. At the level of content production, attention is directed to the origins and generative mechanisms of community productivity, providing explanatory insight into the driving forces behind community cultural resources.

Second, the dimension of institutional mechanisms and rules highlights how virtual communities liberate members from interactions structured by traditional geographic or kinship ties, instead forming disembedded social relations rooted in shared interests. In this context, modes of social interaction and spatial boundaries expand indefinitely, while power structures, symbolic codes, rules, and mechanisms of identification are reconstructed alongside the evolving architecture of virtual space.

Third, the dimension of value expression underscores that online communities constitute arenas of interaction and dialogue, providing the objective conditions for dialogic public relations. Through discourse, members communicate and exchange ideas, fostering identification at the individual, group, and societal levels and gradually forming “spiritual communities” linked by shared intentions and values.

Identity construction in online community membership

Two representative online community platforms with high market penetration, strong user retention, and substantial member engagement in China are Weibo and Douban. This study selected ten representative communities from each platform based on participation levels and further identified the ten most popular posts within each community, yielding a total of 200 posts for case analysis. These communities were then classified into 23 categories according to their thematic functions. Combining expert evaluation with cluster analysis, communities were further grouped into five types based on their scene-dimension scores: knowledge-diffusion, group-aggregation, social-interaction, content-production, and emotional-resonance communities.

Knowledge-diffusion communities (e.g., “Public Discussion of XX Issue,” “Latest Developments in XX Event”) are characterized by high information density and strong intellectual orientation. Member interactions center on rational analysis, professional knowledge transmission, and discussion of social issues, emphasizing logic and factual grounding. Within such communities, members construct identities marked by independent thinking and social responsibility, thereby gaining recognition. They often assume central roles in information dissemination, shaping idealized individual and collective identities defined by knowledge literacy and professional competence. By mobilizing collective intelligence, these communities promote social transformation and progress, serving not only as platforms for knowledge diffusion but also as drivers of social thought and practice.

Group-aggregation communities (e.g., “Updates on XX Celebrity,” “XX Enthusiasts’ Exchange”) bring members together through shared admiration or interest in specific individuals or objects. Members form dense social networks centered on widely recognized figures or events, engaging in frequent interactions and collective actions. Compared with other types, however, these communities tend to display stronger normative regulation and lower openness, often imposing higher entry thresholds and restricting permissible topics or viewpoints. Identity construction in these communities exhibits distinct subcultural characteristics: members’ identities are shaped not only through social interaction and collective identification but also through alignment with subcultural values, lifestyles, and attitudes toward mainstream culture.

Social-interaction communities (e.g., “Solo Travel Guides in XX Location,” “Daily Fitness Check-in Records”) emphasize everyday interaction and the cultivation of social relationships. They provide open, egalitarian platforms for exchange, prioritizing the sharing of everyday experiences over complex regulation or specialized debate. Identity construction in these communities is decentralized, pluralistic, and dynamic. While member identities are diverse, shared interests, goals, and activities foster collective identification and common cultural symbols, consolidating individual belonging while encouraging ongoing cultural innovation within the community.

Content-production communities (e.g., “Derivative Fiction of XX Work,” “Fan-made Comics of XX Game”) foreground self-expression and plural identification through creative practice, experience sharing, and everyday interaction. By engaging in content creation, consultation, discussion, and entertainment, members gradually construct distinctive and personalized identities. Identity formation in these communities is highly fluid and self-defined, giving rise to the role of the “creative producer.” Here, identity is realized primarily through self-presentation, reflecting how individuals shape their social positions through production, participation, and communicative engagement.

Emotional-resonance communities (e.g., “Long-distance Relationship Exchanges,” “Complaint and Humor Collections”) construct connections through affective communication and everyday interaction. Discussions revolve around life complaints, emotional advice, casual conversation, aspirational dialogue, and humor. Such communities prioritize emotional expression over rational analysis; members seek social support and resonance by sharing personal feelings and experiences. Interaction styles are less constrained by formal norms or value prescriptions and often embrace spontaneity and informality. Identity construction in emotional-resonance communities centers on expressive and relational engagement rather than fixed role labels, cultivating the identity of the “emotional connector.”

Key factors influencing identity construction

As virtual social fields, online communities integrate content practices, institutional rules, and value expression into a nexus of discourse, power, and identification that constitutes the core mechanism of identity construction. Within these communities, discourse functions not only as a vehicle for information transmission but also as a fundamental mechanism of identity formation. It is through discourse that members shape selfhood, articulate identification, and establish relationships in virtual space. From a broader sociological perspective, identity construction within communities is underpinned by the circulation of discursive power. The institutionalization of authoritative discourse effectively regulates members’ behavior and cognitive frameworks, providing scene-based support for identity positioning.

Online community scenes are highly open and mutable. Member activities are not constrained by physical space, and community contexts shift over time as participants come and go. Within such environments, power relations tend to become fluid and decentralized. Members may transcend fixed power hierarchies through more egalitarian mechanisms of interaction, thereby redefining modes of identity construction. Yet decentralization does not mean the disappearance of power. Rather, power operates in subtler and more micro-level forms. Implicit power often manifests in topic selection, resource allocation, and rule-setting—micro-level relations that gradually shape members’ identities and roles.

In online communities, the presentation of identity represents the visualization of both individual and collective identification. Members externalize self-conceptions within virtual space, constructing diverse and idealized identities amid shifting community scenes. The multiplicity of identity presentations across different community types reflects the openness and plurality of identity recognition in digital environments, as well as the elasticity and expansiveness of “idealized identities.”

Amid increasing complexity in community environments, future research and practice must address how to comprehend and shape the multiple dimensions of identity, and how to sustain cohesion and collective identification in contexts characterized by decentralization and personalized expression.

Chen Bo is a professor from the School of Journalism and Communication at Wuhan University. Yang Jinze is an assistant research fellow from the National Institute of Cultural Development at Wuhan University. This article has been edited and excerpted from Journalism & Communication Review, Issue 5, 2025.