1. Research background

Explored the importance of national image in domestic and international research, and emphasized the crucial role of the domestic public, especially college students, in identifying with the national image. The article cites the views of Guan Wenhu and Liu Guoqiang, pointing out that the image of a country has a profound impact on individual cognition, national belonging, and the future of the country. In the context of ideological and political education in universities, the national image awareness of college students has become an important issue. With the advent of the era of integrated media, media convergence has had a significant impact on the cognition of college students. The article analyzes the definition, development stages, and impact of integrated media on the lives of college students, emphasizing the core role of information dissemination in shaping national image. Through the analysis of 6045 questionnaires, this study investigated the current status, approaches, and information acquisition preferences of college students towards the national image, and proposed strategies and suggestions to strengthen correct cognition.

2 Literature Review

The literature review section outlines the historical context of research on national image cognition, from Lippmann's perspective on "image cognition" to Boulding's definition of "national image", and then to applied research in international political science and journalism. Since the mid-1990s, domestic research has undergone a development from strategic research to systematic, international, diversified, and speculative research. Foreign research focuses more on empirical evidence, paying attention to national soft power and interdisciplinary trends. Research has pointed out the importance of college students' identification with the national image, but there is still insufficient research on the national image cognition of college students in the era of integrated media. This study aims to fill this gap and explore the impact of integrated media on college students' national image cognition.

3 Research Design

Based on the 2019 Global Survey Report on China's National Image, nine survey sections on national image were constructed, and five aspects of survey content were designed accordingly, including an overview of national image, national image, media exposure, forms of national image promotion and education, and willingness to maintain national image. The research focuses on the cognitive situation, source preferences, media preferences, and influencing factors of college students towards the national image in the era of integrated media. The sample selection covered 6045 college students from different levels of universities in 33 provincial-level administrative regions between August 2019 and March 2020, ensuring the breadth and representativeness of the sample. The research method adopts online questionnaire survey, combined with pre survey and formal questionnaire distribution, to ensure the scientificity and effectiveness of the questionnaire. The questionnaire design includes basic information and six dimensions of scales, divided into five levels using the Likert scale. The reliability test shows that the questionnaire has good scale reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.831.

4 Data Collection and Analysis

Contemporary Chinese college students hold a positive attitude towards the national image and have a strong sense of ethnic identity. New media such as social media play an important role in obtaining national image information, while traditional school education remains the main form of propaganda and education. College students' understanding and recognition of the national image vary in different fields, but overall they are positive. Patriotism, diligence, integrity, friendliness, and unity are their main perceptions of the image of the Chinese people. Although the proportion of college students actively learning about the national image is not high, there are more people willing to introduce the national image to others in their daily lives. The results of the questionnaire survey may be influenced by subjectivity, but they can reflect the national identity and patriotism of college students. In the era of integrated media, social media has become the main way for college students to obtain national image information, and new media such as images, short videos, and article titles have also attracted their attention. College ideological and political education and campus cultural activities are important ways to educate college students on the national image.

5 Results and Discussion

In the era of integrated media, contemporary Chinese university students have a generally positive perception of the national image and are willing to contribute to the construction of the national image through various means. However, their enthusiasm in actively understanding and promoting the national image needs to be improved. College students mainly obtain national image information through social media, preferring pictures, short videos, and eye-catching titles. The ideological and political courses and cultural activities on campus are the main ways for them to receive national image education. There are problems with agenda setting and value guidance in mass media, such as agenda deviation, inappropriate artistic expression, dull language, and challenges brought by emerging media. In addition, the rise of vulgar media and blind spots in online regulation have a negative impact on college students' perception of the country's image. The quality of campus national image promotion and education needs to be improved. The current educational form has not fully stimulated students' interest, the popularization of background knowledge is insufficient, knowledge information is fragmented, and coherence is weak.

6 Countermeasures and Suggestions

Proposed countermeasures and suggestions for the national image cognition of contemporary Chinese college students in the era of integrated media. Firstly, the importance of college students' awareness of the national image was emphasized, and it was pointed out that a positive understanding of the national image is closely related to the improvement of the country's comprehensive strength and the shaping of a good image. It is suggested that the government and universities should effectively guide college students, utilize the advantages of integrated media, and enhance the leadership and credibility of national image promotion. Secondly, it is recommended to utilize the massive resource advantages of integrated media to enhance the cognitive control and critical thinking ability of college students towards the national image. By screening and monitoring information resources, the ability to identify information can be strengthened. In addition, it is proposed to utilize the content consensus advantage of integrated media to strengthen college students' sense of national identity, cultivate national identity through updating information content and grasping the initiative of public opinion. At the same time, it is recommended to utilize the interactive advantages of integrated media to enhance the influence and affinity of national image education, and guide college students to actively learn through two-way interaction and personalized content. It also emphasized the use of the discourse flexibility advantage of integrated media to enhance the attractiveness and infectiousness of national image education, and to enhance educational effectiveness through modern technological means and multidimensional experiences. Finally, it is recommended to utilize the public opinion guidance and control advantages of integrated media to enhance the emergency response and prediction ability of college students in understanding the national image. Through public opinion monitoring and feedback mechanisms, timely response and handling of public opinion events can be achieved.

7 Conclusion

In the context of the era of integrated media, this paper empirically analyzes the cognitive status of contemporary Chinese college students towards the national image, and finds that college students generally recognize the national image, but their cognition is incomplete, unsystematic, and not proactive. The study emphasizes that all social entities should cooperate and utilize the advantages of integrated media to promote college students' positive and objective understanding of the national image, enhance national identity and confidence. As the main force of the new era, college students' national image awareness is of great significance to ideological and political education and the future of the nation. They should cultivate their sense of ownership and patriotism, and take on the historical tasks assigned to them by the times.