The total number of online views exceeds 500 million. This generation of young people has a strong sense of stealing

On the Internet, the term "stealing feeling" has gradually become a popular topic on the Internet. So far, the number of online broadcasts has exceeded 500 million. So why can "stealing feeling" resonate so widely?

This generation of young people suddenly found themselves "stolen". They avoided the camera when taking photos and only dared to make the "scissor hand gesture"; they had to prepare for a long time to talk to strangers, and they were still hesitant when they opened their mouths; they had achieved their results through their own hard work, but they inexplicably felt guilty and unworthy...

The feeling of stealing is just such a sneaky and cautious feeling. Although they are not doing anything shameful, they don't want to be noticed and are afraid of being misunderstood by others. They just want to be a transparent person and do things quietly to gain a sense of security. Some netizens think that the feeling of stealing is particularly obvious in i people: "i people have a strong sense of stealing, especially when they are alone, they feel sneaky and stealthy in everything they do."

Some netizens also do the opposite. Since they can't get rid of the "stealing feeling", they might as well face it head-on. Worried that posing for photos is always embarrassing, they use words and deeds to summarize: "Remember my 3 points, and you will definitely look like a stealer."

The application context of the sense of stealing is not limited to humans, but has gradually expanded to many aspects such as models, dolls, and animals. If the newly bought clothes are not well-fitting, you can also say "this clothes have a strong sense of stealing." Even if you are a Niuhulu goose, the micro-expression of hiding in the corner and looking at people with side eyes is also a superb sense of stealing.

The development of stealing feelings has gradually become a popular subject on the Internet. So far, the #偷感# related topics have been played more than 510 million times on Douyin, more than 73.58 million times on Xiaohongshu, and the number of likes on popular videos has exceeded one million.

So why does "stealing feelings" resonate so widely? From "iren eren" to "danren ninren" and earlier "shushuwoah" and "maluo literature", why do young people love to label themselves? What kind of emotional flow is expressed behind the self-deprecating humor?

1. When people are on the Internet, they feel very guilty

Although the origin of the term "偷感" is difficult to trace, in the early narrative context, most of the introverted and shy netizens told their personal experiences: I want to take a test, but I am afraid of being embarrassed to say that I didn't pass, so I study secretly; I want to lose weight, but I don't want to be asked by others "Why don't you exercise and eat snacks", so I lose weight secretly; I want to go shopping, but I can't stand the shopping guides asking about my well-being, and I am so nervous that I don't know where to put it. It doesn't feel like buying things but stealing... By sharing these moments of "strong stealing feeling", more netizens can resonate: "It turns out that I am not the only one who has such thoughts."

As the discussion of "stealing" gradually increases, netizens have added humorous interpretations, which on the one hand dilutes the emotional pressure of the word itself, and on the other hand makes it an entertaining way of expression. Workers who work from nine to five use stealing to relieve work fatigue. In a meeting, they accidentally make eye contact with their leaders, and they look away because they feel guilty. They are clearly looking for inspiration online, but the action of opening and closing the web page looks like they are slacking off. Workers with a strong sense of stealing simply admit that they only steal three things at work: stealing water, stealing electricity, and stealing paper.

Workers finally start their vacation mode, and a travel video with a strong sense of stealing is the best record of the journey. Three or five friends chase each other between the city attractions, like a game of catching thieves.

In addition to using "stealing feelings" to record life status, more content creators have also used "stealing feelings" as an element to derive more content forms. According to the information collected by Xinbang's Douyin data tool Xindou, from January 1 to June 6, 2024, there were at least 94,600 videos related to stealing feelings, with a total of 157 million likes.

The video with the highest number of likes was a Douyin video shot by Wang Hedi, Fan Chengcheng, and Bai Lu to promote their new drama, set to the background music of Kung Fu Panda. The original background music showed crisp and neat kung fu moves, but with the addition of the sneaky movements of glancing around, even the big stars looked like petty thieves ready to strike at any time. The Douyin video received 1.88 million likes.

As long as you get the "stealing feeling", the originally handsome choreography will become very interesting. Blogger "Kang Kang." filmed a quail dance video with his friends, claiming to have the most tacit stealing feeling steps, and the video received 1.56 million likes.

In the card point cross-dressing track, the feeling of stealing has become a key element in creating contrast. In the previous second, the blogger "I am your cc" was still complaining about how stealing she looked in her pajamas. In the next second, the camera switched and she changed her clothes beautifully, opened her arms to embrace the sea, and there was no trace of stealing at all. The video received 1.25 million likes.

Stealing feelings are also popular on Xiaohongshu. According to the data tool Xinhong under Xinbang, the popularity value of "stealing feelings" on Xiaohongshu and the number of published notes began to increase simultaneously in April this year, and reached a peak recently.

From January 1 to June 6, 2024, there were at least 10,100 notes related to "stealing feelings" on Xiaohongshu, with a total popularity of 4.18 million, a 228-fold increase from the previous month. The notes closely related to it came from film and television variety shows, life, and cute pets.

Blogger "Shanwei Yizhihua" wanted to take fashionable overhead photos on the high-speed rail. She first prepared herself mentally and repeatedly made sure that no one was looking at her before she dared to take out her phone to take a selfie. However, less than a second after she posed, she saw the gaze of the man next door reflected in the window. She had to put down her phone and smile awkwardly out of guilt. This video received 110,000 likes on Xiaohongshu.

The sense of stealing has also opened up a vertical "stealing" track. Blogger "Internet Thief Sister" is keen to share her daily dance practice in the dance studio. In the video, her companions are confident and flamboyant, and they are very comfortable with street dance popping movements, but her limbs have their own ideas. Any frame looks like a thief's stealing action. In the comment area, some netizens directly called her a "stealing blogger". Currently, her Xiaohongshu fans have reached 14,000.

From being reserved and sensitive to being funny and playful, the emotions carried by "偷感" have quietly changed in the process of breaking the circle. Some netizens said that those small details of being uneasy and stiff and strange micro-expressions when taking pictures can all be explained as their own unique sense of humor due to the popularity of the term "偷感".

2. Why do young people like to label themselves?

"偷感" is not the first personality label to become popular this year. Shortly after the Spring Festival, young people who returned to work were already tired and just wanted to live a simple life and become a "simple person".

Speaking calmly: Yes, okay, I got it.

With a calm mood: never fight or compete for a lifetime.

Working is dull: I can’t roll it up, and I can’t put it aside.

Corresponding to this are the "Nong Ren" who want everything to be grand and colorful.

Speaking in a thick voice: Why? I don't understand! Are you crazy too?!

Strong emotions: great sorrow, great joy, great cursing, great rage, and great damn.

At work: Overwork! Overwork me to death! Overtime! (Crazy output)

The strong contrast between the two personalities provides content creators with space for inspiration.

Blogger "xxokate" performed two modes, "light-hearted" and "strong-hearted", and the two videos received 32,000 and 41,000 likes on Xiaohongshu respectively. In "light-hearted" mode, even if her phone fell to the ground and the screen broke, she could still say calmly, "It's okay, I can just change it later." When her partner of 10 years proposed to break up, she still shrugged her shoulders and pretended to be relaxed, "People can't always be with you for the rest of your life, just take it easy."

Netizen: She looks calm, but actually she is crazy. After switching to the "rich person" mode, she would make sharp banging noises no matter what happens, whether it's a friend's dog being hospitalized due to overeating, or oil spots accidentally splashing on clothes while eating, her performance is as earth-shattering as if the sky is falling.

Netizen: I have tinnitus, thank you. Some netizens also said that they are in the middle ground between "light people" and "strong people" in their daily life, and they call themselves "intermediate people".

Earlier, personality labels such as "i人e人", "鼠鼠我啊" and "玛洛文学" also became an outlet for young people to express their emotions. These labels are similar to "偷感" and "淡人浓人", which have the elements of strong resonance and low imitation threshold, and are widely spread on Internet social platforms in the form of hot memes or emoticons.

Take "鼠鼠我啊" as an example, which is actually the homonym of "叔我啊". It was originally a joke from netizens to the chairman of B Zhan. Later, it was mostly used as a self-deprecating expression of "low-level workers" who were frustrated. Now it has been integrated with the adorable little hamster emoticon package, which eliminates some of the negative energy in the original joke.

"Maluo" comes from the nickname for "monkey" in Guangdong and Guangxi. In the emojis, Maluos are always working. They are low-level Maluos holding mops and picking vegetables, and digital Maluos facing keyboards. Sometimes they ask themselves with lifeless eyes: "Do I really need this job?"

In the article "Shushu Literature: Finding a Window into the Common Emotional Whirlpool", Zhizhu.com mentioned that under the invisible framework, many real emotions are difficult to share; behind anonymity, there are not many concerns.

In the vast cyberspace, young people can use "Shu Shu" to confide their confusion and helplessness, and they can also use "stealing feelings" to resolve the embarrassment and anxiety in their lives.

Behind this is their current state of life, which is either anxious or flat, and different personality labels are anonymous vests of different colors. Like other personality labels that have become popular and have triggered social thinking, when the topic of "stealing feelings" has entered a deeper water, the root cause of its occurrence has also been further dissected and analyzed. Some netizens believe that the essence of stealing feelings is a sense of unworthiness, and that self-worth is based on the evaluation of others, which has triggered a new round of discussion.

However, any hot topic on the Internet has a life cycle, and "stealing feelings" is no exception. Combining the data tools of New List, we have observed that the volume of the topic of "stealing feelings" has declined.

But the Internet is never short of new traffic words. Recently, a blogger proposed the term "snatching feeling" corresponding to "stealing feeling", emphasizing the need to "get rid of the stealing feeling, raise yourself again" and "improve the sense of deserving". Under the strong desire of young people to express themselves, this may become the next traffic label.