Abstract

With the expansion of the digital economy, platform-based content creation has become a common route through which young people participate in flexible employment. However, the occupational identity of young we-media bloggers remains unstable because platform work combines low entry barriers, ambiguous labour relations, algorithmic governance and uncertain income. This qualitative study examines factors shaping occupational identity among young we-media bloggers in Hangzhou and Shaoxing, China. Data were collected through participatory observation and semi-structured interviews with 20 bloggers active on Xiaohongshu, TikTok and Bilibili. Fifteen interviews were used for open, axial and selective coding, and five additional interviews were used to assess theoretical saturation. The analysis identifies five key factors: perceived occupational competence, occupational development expectations, perceived occupational meaning, external environmental conditions and platform mechanisms. These factors operate through the interaction of internal cognition and external conditions: competence, future expectations and meaning provide internal support for occupational identity, whereas family attitudes, social evaluation, industry conditions, platform feedback and monetisation opportunities shape its stability. The findings suggest that young bloggers’ occupational identity is not a fixed status but a negotiated process formed through content production, platform feedback and social recognition.

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