A survey dataset on China’s domestic image and media use among post-90s and post-00s cohorts

This paper presents a survey dataset on perceptions of China’s domestic image and media use among two generational cohorts: post-90s (n = 357, collected in 2019) and post-00s (n = 1,672, collected in 2025). In this study, domestic image is defined as the perception of a country held by its own citizens and is operationalised as a multidimensional construct covering social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental domains. The dataset integrates Likert-scale measurements of national image with detailed media-use variables, enabling joint analysis of respondents’ perceptions of China’s domestic image and their media-use behaviours. The questionnaires were systematically designed and documented, with item-level transparency provided in Supplementary Materials. Technical validation includes internal consistency analysis, inter-item correlations, and both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. While partial structural comparability between the two cohorts is supported by overlapping measurement design, cross-cohort comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to temporal and contextual differences. This dataset provides a structured and reusable resource for research on national image, media effects, and generational differences in perception.