Page 87 - JOURNAL OF LIBRARY SCIENCE IN CHINA 2018 Vol. 44

086 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.10, 2018

are no cases actively seeking social networks to help them reduce digital poverty. The number of
such cases appeared in Gansu Tianzhu is the most, accounting for eleven, followed by Liye town
of Hunan province with three cases, and two cases in Tianjin, one case in Anhui and one case in
Chongqing.
In the twenty composite cases of five digital poverty types, there are six cases actively seeking
digital help from social networks. Social networks involved in five cases of the six belong to
strong ties. The scenarios involved include: a male resident surnamed Wang in JS village of Anhui
province asked his child and wife for help when he encountered problems while using mobile
phone, a female resident surnamed Yuan in HFX village in Tianjin asked his son to help her call
somebody, a female resident surnamed Tian in HFX village in Tianjin asked her son and husband
for help her use mobile phone, a young woman surnamed Yang in LY town of Hunan sought help
from her neighbor’s daughter working in an Internet bar during video chat, and an elder female
resident in QY town in Guizhou of Guiyang province asked her grandson to find drug information
about coronary heart diseases. In the other case, which belongs to weak tie, a male resident ever
asked a phone seller to help him when his mobile phone was broken. Strong ties enable them to
gain digital capabilities, digital social support, and increase of digital social impact in specific
contexts.
Among the fourteen composite cases of four digital poverty types, there are five cases actively
seeking strong ties of social networks to help them complete digital behaviors, and the ratio is
slightly higher than those of the above two situations. The scenarios of these five cases include: a
male resident surnamed Jin in MF village of Anhui asked his children to teach him to use his first
mobile phone, a male resident surnamed Wang in MF village of Anhui asked his grandson to teach
him to use mobile phone, a woman surnamed Li in HFX village in Tianjin let his son teach him to
use mobile phone, a young man surnamed Zhou in TH village in Tianjin asked his friend, owner of
a decoration shop in the same village, to help him use computer to listen to music and play games
for the first time, and a male resident surnamed She in QY town in Guiyang of Guizhou asked his
old schoolmate to help him apply for a QQ number. They all reduced the extent to which their lack
of digital capabilities in those situations through their strong ties.
Among the fifteen composite cases of three digital poverty types, there are six cases actively
seeking help from strong ties to reduce poverty in specific situations. The scenarios involved
are: a middle-aged male resident in YP town in Chongqing was taught by his daughter to use
computer, an elder male resident surnamed Wang in MF village in Anhui was provided with help
by his neighbor to make video chat with his granddaughter living in another place, a male resident
surnamed Chen in MF village in Anhui first sought help from relatives to solve problems in use of
mobile phone, a middle-aged woman surnamed Wang in HFX village in Tianjin asked her husband
to help her use mobile phone, a middle-aged man surnamed Ma, owner of a department shop in
CKY village in Gansu, and a male resident surnamed Shi in KL village sought help from relatives
to provide computers and places for Internet access. Strong ties helped them reduce the lack of