Internet Age Angsty Youth

Author: Sina netizen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: "Absurd" is originally a colloquial term from Guangdong, Foshan, referring to someone who appears ridiculous and talks nonsense, yet actually has their own logic. With the emergence of the "absurd" persona, unfounded pretense of depth, and laughable exaggeration in the films of Stephen Chow, the "absurd" language almost swept through the younger generation in China. Today, "absurd" language has become a form of internet slang among young people in our country. It not only contains the humorous exaggeration from Stephen Chow's A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella, but also incorporates elements such as satire, humor, irony, self-deprecation, and helplessness. From grand global issues to trivial daily matters, everything is approached with a comedic attitude. It reflects the young people of today's generation's skepticism and denial of everything, the deconstruction of all authority and conventions, as well as their helplessness and self-mockery toward the realities of life. Behind the words may lie profound meanings that we still cannot fully understand.
Every era has its own "angry youth," and the current young generation is the new "angry youth" online. They mostly lack the impoverished background and suppressed ideals of the older "angry youth" from the 1980s. Instead, they live in and are helpless in the new social context: the ever-changing cities, unstable jobs, oppressive offices, paper marriages, and the ups and downs of relationships. These new issues have shaped the unique image and language of the new "angry youth."