Amy Gade

IDS 803: Origins and Implications of the Knowledge Society

Reading Response #3: Working-Class Network Society: Communication Technology and the
Information Have-Less in Urban China
Reading Response 3 Writing Prompt
Working from discrete sections of Qiu's text as a whole, examine his claim that ICT's play a large
and growing role in China's economy.
The book Working-Class Network Society: Communication Technology and the
Information Have-Less in Urban China, by Jack Qiu (2009), describes the role of
communication technology in lives of a particular niche of the Chinese population, which he
calls the information have-less. To fulfill their growing information needs, the have-less
population had to find ways in which they could gain access to information and communication
technologies, whether that be through the use of pre-paid mobile phone services, used,
refurbished, or stolen mobile phones or utilizing Internet cafes. In the required readings from
Qius text for IDS 803: Origins and Implications of the Knowledge Society at Fort Hays State
University, these examples were used to support Qius claim that information and
communication technologies plays a significant role in the lives of the have-less. Because the
have-less social class play such a large role in the structure of Chinese society, their use of
information and communication technologies plays a large and even growing role in Chinas
economy. This paper serves to address various examples of how the information and
communication technologies are seemingly becoming more influential to the economy in China,
as noted in Qius (2009) text.
In China, like most of the world, there is a very prevalent divide between the haves and
the have-nots. Those that have are considered upper class individuals with both their needs and
wants met, including access to technology and the Internet. The have-nots, on the other hand, are

considered lower class, whose most basic needs are not always met, let alone any wants,
including access to technology or the Internet. As China's industrial sector has grown, a more
urbanized society has also developed, which in turn has created a much larger working-class. To
meet the basic information needs of this class, information and communication technologies
have become more affordable, more widespread, and more integrated into the lives of the
working-class. Through the sale of used and refurbished mobile phones, computers, televisions,
prepaid wireless services, pirated DVDs, and Internet cafe's, a pivotal change has happened in
Chinese society and that is the introduction of the have-less society.
The have-less social class in China is an extremely important one. Many of the have-less
are migrants moving to Chinas cities for work in the growing industrial sector. As Qiu (2009)
noted, "In China, the have-less population encompasses large proportions of the 147 million
internal migrants, more than 30 million laid-off workers, another 100 million or so retirees, and a
large number of the 189 million youth between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four..." (p. 4).
While Internet and cell phones were once a privilege only known to upper class individuals,
working-class people have demanded the same access in order to address their most basic
information needs, like contact with their families back in their rural hometowns or
information regarding the newly commercialized housing, education, and health care
sectors. Because this social class is comprised by a large population of the working-class and
therefore is a class that impacts the overall economy, the have-less found themselves
empowered to address this information need.
In demanding access, information and communication technologies were slowly
made available to this population. Prepaid mobile phone services, such as Little Smart,
refurbished, used, or stolen mobile phones, and Internet cafes are just a few of the ways this

working-class social group moved themselves from a place of have-not to that of have-less.
So how has new access to information and communication technologies among this group
played a large and even growing role in Chinas economy? By providing access, jobs,
revenue, support of other industries, and even an underground economy all based around
the information and communication technologies.

Qiu (2009) says, "Cybercafs have become a kind of inexpensive bar, where the
information have-less kill time, relax and socialize, and get intoxicated in cyberspace and the
physical space" (p. 22). These Internet cafes offer a collective mode of access for members of the
have-less social class. Because they are likely either unable to afford their own computer and
Internet access or are unwilling to pay for it, net bars are able to provide computer and Internet
access on a large scale. While there is only a small fee for Internet use at these facilities, it is
enough to help them provide updated computers with updated ICTs of which these people
themselves could not manage to acquire. Qiu (2009) says, "As the high-end market gets
saturated, the importance of Net bars as a collective mode of access becomes even more
prominent as they continue to drive the expansion of Internet into the lower social strata of urban
China, from low-income communities in major metropolitan areas to second- and third-tier cities
and small towns in the hinterland" (p. 26). The author was also quick to mention that role
cybercafs have within Chinas online gaming industry, one of their largest and most profitable
industries. Because much of the online gaming happening in China is done from cybercafs,
should these cease to exist the online gaming industry would be severely impacted.
Beyond providing phone access to the larger population, the wireless phone industry in
China has done a number of things for people and their economy. As the demand for mobile
phone services and products has grown, so has the mobile handset industry in China, which has

led to an increase in working-class job opportunities. Qiu (2009) said, "Through these jobs in the
manufacturing, transportation, whole-sale, retail, services, and used phone markets, some of the
sales revenue has trickled down to blue-collar workers, working families, and, through their
grassroots networks, other have-less populations" (p. 57). To serve this population, development
of low-end products led to the rise of China's domestic brands, which helped lower the price of
these services and spread their reach into smaller communities. Another benefit of the wireless
phone industry came by way of the surplus production of mobile phones, which opened the door
for huge Chinese export opportunities. Meanwhile to service this growing industry, companies
specializing in the manufacture and export of mobile phone parts and accessories emerged. By
use of migrant workers and a management system marked by flexibility, China is able
to outcompete the more expensive manufacturing of most other countries.
Qiu (2009) describes as an informal economy within the larger Chinese economy, which
he calls a city underneath, seemingly comprised of more hidden practices or operations.
Categorized as "unregulated by the institutions of society," cities underneath are borderline
illegal in many cases, but are an integral part of the larger economy. (Qiu, 2009, p. 198). In
China, the cities underneath are largely related to the technology market because its heavily
focused on the sale of used or recycled information and communication technologies, like mobile
phones and laptops, as well as pirated CDs, DVDs, software, and video games. Likewise, the
cities underneath cater toward the working-class population because it helps meet their demands
for access, while offering it at affordable prices. Cities underneath rely heavily on the use of cash
because the have-less, working class have no commercial credit system available for their use. In
turn, vendors are often not registered with the government and therefore are able to evade taxes
and regulatory processes. Local and state governments have become tolerant of these informal

and often illegal practices with technology products because it supplements the economy of the
city in which they are sold. Governments are also willing to turn an eye to these informal
economies because they know these markets provide jobs to a somewhat large population of
working class people within their cities.
It is clear that the have-less are truly a powerful social group in China. As one of the
largest, their migration to Chinas cities for work has posed many challenges and
opportunities. Challenges like employment, health care, education, and housing are just
some of the obstacles the have-less have and are continuing to work through. Opportunities
for new social standing, new lifestyle, and new equalities are just some of the milestones the
have-less have and are continuing to work toward. The have-less demand for access to
things such as information and communication technologies to meet their most basic
information needs has also affected China greatly. Access, jobs, revenue, support of other
industries, and even an underground economy all based are just some of the many ways
information and communication technologies play a large and even growing role in Chinas
economy.

Works Cited
Qiu, J. L. (2009). Working-Class Network Society: Communication Technology and the
Information Have-Less in Urban China. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.