Study On Making Friends In Strangers’ Social Platform Fromthe Perspective Of Media Affordance

Due to population policies and the imbalance of the male to female ratio,the number of "empty-nest youth" who are both single and live alone is on the rise,and loneliness has become a norm for them.In such a transition from a society of acquaintances to a society of strangers,the importance of weak ties is increasing.Under this background,stranger dating platform emerges at the historic moment and becomes a choice for young people to carry out social communication.While the stranger dating platform is subject to controversy,it integrates multiple ways,adjusts and develops,influences users’ communication practice,and shapes users’ social relations.This study takes Soul App,a social software for strangers,as a case study.From the perspective of media affordance theory,this study explores the interaction of platform,technology and users in the process of strangers’ social communication and their impact on the development of users’ social relations.This study is mainly divided into five parts.The first part describes the background,purpose,significance and theoretical framework of this study,and summarizes the limitations of the existing research to lay the foundation for the research.The second part analyzes the stage when users walk into the platform environment,perceive the platform atmosphere,and obtain social cues before the connection between strangers.The third part discusses the influence of mobile affordances,production affordances and social affordances of the platform on users’ communication practice in the stage of social connection,and the influence of the interaction between users and the platform on the direction of the relationship in this process.The fourth part analyzes the disconnection stage between users and the platform and other users,and the final development direction of strangers’ social relations.The fifth part criticizes and reflects on the media practice of Soul platform users from the perspective of media affordances.It is found that in the pre-connection stage,users walk onto the platform,feel the environmental atmosphere,understand the connection rules,and create the connection basis.In the connection stage,the mobile affordances,production affordances and social affordances of the platform affect user perception,adjust users’ communication practices,and activate and extend the social relationship between strangers.In the disconnection stage,users say goodbye to the platform and users,and social relationships become intimate or end.The problems caused by the constant development of the stranger dating platform,such as over-connection,confrontation between men and women,and seductive consumption,are worthy of reflection and criticism.The research on making friends under the influence of stranger platforms can deepen the understanding of such hot discussion platforms,supplement the deficiencies of the current research on making friends with strangers under the background of intermediary communication,and expand the cognition of online communication and interaction of strangers,which has certain practical significance.