Compliments and Compliment Responses on Chinese Social Media: Gender Variation

This study examines the practices of giving and responding to compliments from Chinese university students on social media, focusing specifically on the gender differences that exist in this context. The data for this study was collected from online platform WeChat Moments, and was analyzed by using two analytical frameworks, Yuan’s (2002) framework for compliment strategies and Herbert’s (1990) framework for compliment response strategies. The findings of this study revealed that firstly Chinese university students tended to employ explicit compliments more frequently than other compliment strategies. Secondly, they are more inclined to accept compliments rather than reject them. Thirdly, significant gender disparities were observed among Chinese university students in the use of compliment strategies and response behaviors, including the subcategories of acceptance, deflection, and disagreement. Additionally, the paper suggests that compliment and compliment response behaviors of Chinese university students may be influenced by western cultures and online settings.

Keywords: Compliment, Compliment Responses, Gender, Chinese, Social Media.