Please share a description of your research.

The paper is about understanding Chinese netizens' attitudes toward vegetarianism by considering how they frame their dietary practices based on different types of vegetarianism and different reasons for adopting vegetarianism. It focuses on 139 top answers under the vegetarianism topic on a Chinese Quora-like platform: Zhihu. Using content analysis, the paper finds that many interconnected frames opposed vegetarianism on the social media platform, and the platform became a place where anti-vegetarianism mobilize.

What led to your interest in this area?

I am interested in understanding Chinese social media from a sociological perspective. I saw many negative views toward vegetarianism on Chinese social media, which made me wonder how to use my sociological imagination to systematically understand Chinese netizens' attitudes toward vegetarianism.

What prompted you to submit your paper to the Global Undergraduate Awards?

The GUA is a place where students can submit their research and be recognized. It is also a place for students to form networks and learn from each other during and after the annual summit.

Can you describe how you felt/what you thought when you found out you'd been selected as a winner?

It was surprising because the method I used was not advanced and had several limitations. I was very happy to get the phone call from Ireland at around 9 am during the Global Winners announcement date, and felt excited to tell and thank the professors who supervised my submission: Dr. Howard Ramos and Dr. Tracey L. Adams.

What are your plans for the future? Do you plan to continue in this field?

I plan to finish my Master's in sociology and then prepare to apply for a PhD in sociology. I have general interests in sociology, particularly in political sociology and the sociology of social media, immigration, race, gender, and work. I hope I can turn these into my expertise from research interests.