When the platform becomes a co-author: Self-writing about HPV vaccination on social media as technologies of the self

Since the HPV vaccine's introduction in China, growing numbers of women have proactively vaccinated and shared their experiences and bodily sensations on social media, engaging in health-centered self-writing. Based on Foucault's theory of 'technologies of the self', this study views such practices as a digital-age form of reflection and subject formation. Through participatory observation and in-depth interviews with 26 participants, the study found that the technologies of the self have shifted from traditional private reflection to a platform-led co-creation, with digital media participating as 'co-authors' in individuals' self-writing. This has not only reconfigured the logic of writing personal health experiences and reflections but also constructed a highly homogenized self-identity, compressing the space for women to shape diverse ethical subjects. Although women use technologies of the self to resist patriarchal discipline and pursue self-awakening on social media, such expressions often fall into performative obedience to mainstream female discourses, such as 'self-love'. While actively shaping their subjectivity, they are constrained by platform power and group identity pressure, and continuously internalize new forms of discipline, forming an ethical subject that appears autonomous but is actually controlled. This study reveals the evolution of Foucault's 'technologies of the self' in the digital media field, emphasizes the contradictions, tensions, and complexities in the formation of ethical subjects under the influence of the logic of platforms, and provides new insights into the understanding of self-governance in the digital society.