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Chao News Client reporter Pan Lu intern Wang Qixin

Editor's note: Halfway through 2024, some media have recently released the hot words for the first half of the year. These buzzwords are imprinted on people's lives and the mental state of young people. Through these keywords, we dismantle the "playing memes" of young people and observe their living conditions.

"What should I do if I always feel like I have a lot of stealing feelings at work?" "Awards for college students' stealing feelings" ... accompanied by the "stealing feelings" emoticons of people carrying cloth bags, wearing green hoods, and bending over, the term "stealing feelings" is becoming popular on social platforms and has become a new Internet buzzword this summer.

However, the "stealing feeling" is different from the act of stealing. Most of the time, it manifests as feeling awkward, timid or shy in certain situations. Many young people describe their "stealing feeling" in daily life: shrinking their heads when taking photos at scenic spots; not daring to tell others that they are taking the postgraduate entrance examination and studying secretly; "the voice in the office is quieter than a mosquito, and I feel like a thief"...

What exactly is the feeling of “stealing”?

Stealing feelings emoticon package. Image source: Internet

“I just want to be a transparent person in the company”

Yan Yue, who was born in the 2000s and works in a foreign trade company in Jiangsu, feels that she has a strong sense of "stealing" in front of her boss. Sometimes when she has little work to do, Yan Yue will slack off at her workstation, but for fear of being discovered by her boss, she will take sneaky measures such as "avoiding his gaze, not looking at him unless necessary, secretly covering her phone when he passes by, and minimizing the WeChat window."

Yan Yue understands the "sense of stealing" as a manifestation of guilt. At work, it is "because I don't want the boss to notice me, I just want to be a transparent person in the company." When she goes out to throw away the garbage in her pajamas, she also feels "sneaky" and adopts the method of "playing with the phone, walking quickly, throwing away quickly, and going home" to avoid the crowd, "because I am not so confident in that scene and I will care more about other people's opinions."

When chatting online, Yan Yue also likes to use some emojis that are full of "stealing feelings" "to ease the awkward situation."

Yang Qing, a 23-year-old freelancer, has a different understanding of the "sense of being stolen." "We feel weird, unworthy, and at a loss in a situation that we clearly obtained by ourselves, and we have a strong sense of being stolen" - she said on the social platform. "For example, in class, you may feel that other students are very good, and you are just a person who got in, or in the workplace, others are elites, and you are like a child. Some people enter a place through hard work and struggle, but they still feel that they are unworthy and do not belong here."

Before leaving the job, Yang Qing sometimes felt like he was being cheated because the work environment was difficult to fit into.

"When my colleagues and leaders are discussing a plan and expressing their opinions, I may wonder what this has to do with me?" Yang Qing mentioned that young people today may be more individualistic and find it more difficult to gain a sense of accomplishment, but they are also unable to change the environment around them, which may lead to cognitive dissonance. Under such a contradiction, "stealing feelings" has become a self-consistent way, like a form of resistance by young people. "In the new discourse space formed by 'stealing feelings', there are more subjects and subject consciousness, which can actually help adjust one's own state, and then allow oneself to live a more convincing life."

Weibo screenshot

"The feeling of stealing" is a psychological self-defense mechanism

Why is the "stolen feeling" so popular among young people today? Yang Jianghua, a professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Xi'an Jiaotong University, believes that it is because it accurately captures a common feeling among young people in social, work and life. According to his observation, young people's "stolen feeling" may come from a variety of factors, including excessive attention to personal image and achievements, fear of failure or being judged, emphasis on privacy, and how to hide their anxiety on social media.

Wang Yufan, a lecturer at the School of Marxism at Central China Normal University, believes that "stealing" is a psychological self-defense mechanism that young people seek when facing uncertainty. "They are afraid of the trauma that failure will bring to themselves, so they build a high defense wall in their hearts so that they will not be very painful if they fail."

In addition, Yang Jianghua said that the rapid spread and widespread popularity of the term "stealing feelings" also reflects some typical characteristics of the Internet society and modern society. "For example, the high transparency of information caused by the popularization of social media and the excessive focus on personal achievements caused by intensified social competition will increase the uneasiness and anxiety of young people in social interactions."

Li Junpeng, a professor at the School of Social Sciences at Central China Normal University, pointed out that competition in today's society is becoming more and more involutionary. "Some people don't want others to know that they are working hard. They think that once others know their efforts, if others work just as hard, they may lose more opportunities."

"We are in a period of social transformation, and many things are facing uncertainties. In addition, there is the impact of social atomization. After the disintegration of some traditional social systems in our country, people are becoming more and more free, open, and individualistic, but it is also becoming increasingly difficult for people to get support from intimate relationships, so they say 'stealing feelings'," said Wang Yufan.

Animals with a strong sense of stealing. Image source: Internet

We need more understanding of "stealing feelings"

"Stolen feeling" has become a hot topic on the Internet. Not only humans have "stolen feeling", but many pictures of animals looking cramped have also been evaluated as "having a strong sense of stolen", making netizens put themselves in their shoes: they feel "its mental state is similar to mine."

Li Junpeng believes that there have been similar phenomena in the past, but there was no term "stealing feelings". "Some heavy and complex phenomena have been expressed with a popular word, intentionally or unintentionally, and lightly." Li Junpeng said, "The light-hearted word will conceal our attention to some heavy issues."

In Yang Jianghua's view, the term "stealing feelings" is both humorous and self-deprecating, reflecting the young people's deep desire to be "understood". It also conveys the young people's true attitude and coping methods towards privacy, personal space and social pressure. In the context of rapid development and change in today's society, the phenomenon of "stealing feelings" shown by young people should be fully respected. Everyone's social needs and comfort zones are personalized and different. Therefore, young people who choose to express themselves in a familiar, safe and accepting environment should not only be understood, but also encouraged and supported.

Wang Yufan also pointed out that "stealing" is an expression of youth subculture, but we must prevent the stigmatization and labeling of this word. "If everyone does something secretly and is not good at expressing their reasonable demands, if the relevant parties cannot truly understand the needs of the youth group, there may be some challenges in formulating policies." Wang Yufan said frankly, "This is a normal social phenomenon, and we must prevent it from being alienated."

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