Pessimism forbidden

Jorge Costa Oliveira

In most countries, posting “life is crap” on social media gets you a sympathy emoji or, at worst, silence. In China, it can now earn you a sanction from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

The New York Times reports that the CAC punished two bloggers who advocated a life with less work and less pressure, an influencer who said that financially it made sense not to marry or have children, and a commentator known for noting that perhaps China still does not enjoy the same quality of life as the West.

The CAC launched a sweeping digital purge, saying it will restrict social media posts that “excessively exaggerate negative and pessimistic sentiments.” The goal is to “correct negative emotions” and “create a more civilized and rational online environment.” This campaign fits squarely within the Party-State’s battle against promoting “defeatist” ideas, such as “hard work is useless.”

Beijing’s digital detox campaign claims it is focused on removing false information and “emotional predators” who monetize sadness – exemplified by the shutdown of more than 1,500 accounts on platforms like Weibo for speculating about the death of Yu Menglong, a young actor who died in September. But the campaign goes far beyond that. It is hitting people who are not spreading misinformation or conspiracy theories. All they are doing is committing the “crime” of reporting their disappointment.

Many bloggers and social media users vent and openly question a system that imposes a lifestyle of hard work that was supposed to deliver a better quality of life, even if only eventually. Heaven forbid someone admit online the frustration of studying for years to become an economist or business manager only to end up with a job as a supermarket cashier. The truth is that sadness, sarcasm, frustration, and pessimism are part of human nature. Besides, what is the point of the internet and social media if a person cannot go there to vent or express sadness, sarcasm, frustration, or pessimism?

China has been facing an economic slowdown driven by a property crisis (housing prices have been falling for three years, though they are still too high for many), declining consumer confidence and consumption, and high youth unemployment (15%) – factors fueling growing disillusion among younger generations. This sentiment has led many young people disillusioned with the officially endorsed “China Dream” – which pushes a life of hard work and sacrifice without any real fulfillment – to adopt lifestyles like “lying flat” (tang píng), the search for a simple and stress-free life. Two top influencers with millions of followers were banned from social media and the wider cyberspace for promoting tang píng.

This CAC campaign goes beyond censoring words – whether to silence dissent or bury criticism – in an attempt to control emotions themselves. The Party-State Big Brother can promote “positive energy” (zhèng néngliàng) ad nauseam and proclaim its tireless devotion to the happiness of the masses and their permanent contentment. But banning pessimism from social media and muting the disenchantment of a disillusioned generation is unlikely to be either wise or effective.

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