Perception Of City:Beijing Drifters’ Location Media Practice

The development of the Internet and technological advances have made the media not simply an intermediary tool,but a context for people’s lives,and people’s lives are becoming more and more mediated.People use a variety of media to live in the city,and one of the representative media is the location-based media based on the location services.With the development of satellite positioning technology and the widespread use of electronic maps,the media we use in our lives are increasingly linked to the location information,such as mobile location media with navigation functions to help people better search for locations and find their way around the city;takeaway and taxi software to facilitate people’s lives while allowing users to use the electronic mobile maps to keep track of the specific locations of businesses,riders and drivers,etc.,in order to We Chat’s location sharing,friends’ circle and Weibo’s location clock have opened up more possibilities for people’s social interaction.As outsiders to the city,Beijing drifters inevitably use a variety of location-based media in their work and life in Beijing,and these location-based media play a crucial role in their adaptation to the city.Beijing’s own urban characteristics have,to a certain extent,influenced the location-mediated practices of Beijing drifters,and these location-mediated practices have,in turn,affected their perception of the city and shaped their sense of place in Beijing.Drawing on Paul Adams’ theory of ’Geographies of Media and Communication’,this paper introduces the practice of mediatization into the study,shifting the focus from media texts to the specific media practices.Through the analysis of location-mediated practices,the impact of such location-mediated practices on the shaping of people’s sense of place is investigated.This paper is divided into five parts.The first part is an introduction,which sets out the origins,purpose and significance of the study,introduces the research methodology and reviews relevant research on media geography,sense of place,location media and mediatization.Chapter two introduces the theoretical approach involved in this study,which is a shift from representation to practice.The third chapter focuses on the impact of urban characteristics,represented by urban fabric and urban rhythms,on the location-mediated practices of Beijing drifters.The fourth chapter examines the specific location-mediated practices of Beijing drifters from the perspective of urban life,and how these location-mediated practices have increased their perspective on the city,helped them to better socialise with others,and become a new way of self-presentation for Beijing drifters.Chapter five builds on the previous analysis of the location-mediated practices of Beijing drifters and examines the impact of these location-mediated practices on the shaping of their sense of place,analysing how these media experiences have influenced the relationship between Beijing drifters and the city of Beijing.Finally,the findings of the study are summarised and summarised,while some of the shortcomings are reflected upon and discussed.