China’s censors are purging the internet of millennial angst
Despairing over the price of apartments or avocado toast isn’t just for millennials in the US. In China, millennial angst has helped form an entire sub-culture of dejected 20-somethings with a knack for cynical, self-deprecating humor. But the country’s censors aren’t finding it funny.
WeChat announced on Saturday that it’s banned more than 40,000 public accounts since the start of this year – and it’s only February. Among them were the usual suspects: vulgar and harmful content, scams, and frauds. China is known for its tough stance towards undesirable content, so that’s nothing new. But there’s also a new target: the so-called “sang” culture.
It loosely translates to funeral or mourning, but it can also mean hopeless or dispirited. Too lazy to pick up dirty laundry from the floor? You’re sang. Spending 12 hours a day in an office for a salary that barely covers rent? Also sang. And if you outright refuse to participate in China’s frantic social competition, it’s definitely sang.
Much like the rest of the world, the trend started appearing just as the job market for millennials in China started worsening. Fueled by pop culture anti-heroes like Netflix’s BoJack Horseman and Chinese sitcom character Ge You, the trend found its home on social platforms like WeChat and Weibo. It’s even spawned musical numbers like So Far, the Sofa is So Far.
