The Narrative Symptoms and Cultural Context of "Involution"-- Taking College Student Group As an Example

Abstract

In recent years, "involution" has transformed from an obscure sociological term to a phenomenal buzzword. In the context of "involution", the general public, especially college students, widely expresses anxiety and inferiority complex, the helplessness of "forced involution", the behavior of "pseudo-active life" and even the alienation of interpersonal interaction. These are concentrated expressions of the narrative symptoms of "involution". As a product of semantic transmutation and new media information exchange, it has become a network discourse linking college students and reflecting a specific cultural context. Taking the college student group as an example, from the perspectives of sociology, psychology and communication, this paper combines the questionnaire research to sort out the narrative symptoms and the cultural context of "involution", explore the reasons behind it and propose strategies to ease it, which is conducive to providing valuable information for the public who are widely affected by "involution" nowadays. It is also a theoretical tool for explaining and reflecting on many social phenomena in China.