【作者简介】杨江华，杨思宇，西安交通大学社会学系

【文章来源】《社会学评论》2025年第4期

【内容提要】网络数字技术的快速普及为破解城市社区治理中长期存在的“弱参与”困境提供了新契机，但现有研究大多强调技术的工具性赋能，忽略了居民技术使用能力的差异。本研究基于国内 17 个城市的实证数据，从居民作为技术使用者的主体性视角探讨了数字能力对居民社区参与的影响及其作用机制。研究发现，数字能力显著提升了居民的社区参与水平，主要通过两条路径实现：一是通过社区网络社群重构社区关系网络，增强居民间的社会连结；二是通过社区数字平台再造公共交往空间，促进社区信息交流与交往互动。数字能力还对参与度较低的社区边缘或沉默群体产生了显著的激活效应，提高了他们的参与积极性。本研究不仅为数字赋能与社区治理研究提供了新的理论视角，也为构建“以人民为中心”的智慧社区建设提供了重要实证依据。

【关键词】数字能力 / 社区参与 / 主体性 / 数字赋能 / 社区治理

【全文链接】http://src.ruc.edu.cn/CN/Y2025/V13/I4/94

Beyond Instrumental Empowerment: Digital Competence and Residents’Community Participation

Abstract: The rapid diffusion of digital technologies presents new opportunities to address the enduring challenge of weak community participation in urban governance in China. However, existing studies have largely focused on the instrumental affordances of technology, overlooking disparities in residents’digital competence.Drawing on survey data from 17 Chinese cities, this study adopts a perspective that centers on residents as active technology users to examine how digital competence influences community participation and through which mechanisms. The findings indicate that digital competence significantly enhances residents’participation in community affairs, primarily through two pathways: rebuilding community social networks by strengthening ties within online neighbourhood groups, and expanding informational spaces for public interaction on digital platforms. Moreover, digital competence exerts a pronounced activation effect on marginalized or previously disengaged residents, increasing their likelihood of civic involvement. This study contributes to the literature on digital empowerment and community governance by foregrounding user capacity over technological access and offers empirical support for building people-centred smart communities.