Toxic Fandom: Digital Labor in Chinese Social Media

Abstract

This case study examines the rise of toxic fandoms in China’s digital culture, with a focus on the social media platform Weibo. It explores how fan communities—once characterized by participatory creativity and emotional connection—have evolved into data-generating engines that fuel the celebrity economy. Through practices such as reposting, voting, commenting, and managing “Super Topics,” fans engage in routinized, unpaid digital labor known as “playbor.” Their emotional investments are monetized by platforms like Weibo, which rank content and users using algorithmic indicators to maximize traffic data and commercial value. This gamified ecosystem pressures fans into compulsive online activity to boost their idols’ visibility, contributing to the platform’s profit while blurring the lines between leisure and exploitation. “Toxic fandom” emerges when fans are disciplined into labor-intensive behaviors that induce burnout and internal conflict, yet are essential for maintaining celebrity rankings. Although regulatory campaigns like China’s “clean-up” initiative aim to curb such practices, critics argue that platforms—not users—should be held accountable. The case raises urgent questions about datafication, emotional labor, and platform responsibility in the age of algorithmic fandom.