Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)

Constructing Public Perception Through Social Media: A Sentiment Analysis of China’s High School Basketball League (CHBL)

Authors
Zeyu Peng1, *
1Sports Business and Leadership, Institute of Sports Business, Loughborough University, London, E20 3BS, UK
*Corresponding author. Email: 798928016@qq.com
Corresponding Author
Zeyu Peng
Available Online 25 March 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_8How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Social media sentiment; Youth sports branding; Platform polarization; User-generated narratives; Education-entertainment paradox
Abstract

This paper investigates the role of social media in shaping public perceptions of China’s High School Basketball League (CHBL) through an analysis of user-generated content on Weibo and Douyin. The study identifies contrasting platform dynamics: Weibo discussions emphasize educational values, while Douyin content focuses on entertainment. Key findings reveal that academic-related issues trigger stronger emotional responses than game outcomes, regional biases dominate discourse, and personal narratives outperform official messaging in engagement. The research highlights sentiment analysis as an effective method for capturing nuanced public attitudes toward youth sports. Practical recommendations include adopting platform-specific communication strategies and prioritizing authentic user stories. These insights advance understanding of how digital platforms influence perceptions of amateur sports, particularly the tension between educational and entertainment priorities in youth leagues.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
25 March 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-553-9
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_8How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Zeyu Peng
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - Constructing Public Perception Through Social Media: A Sentiment Analysis of China’s High School Basketball League (CHBL)
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 61
EP  - 69
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_8
ID  - Peng2026
ER  -