If you have recently followed Chinese social media, you must often see two words: "involution" and "lying flat." "Involution" refers to a fiercely competitive environment where everyone, in order not to be eliminated, has no choice but to put in more and more effort, but in the end everyone's relative position has not changed. For example, in a class, originally everyone went to bed at nine at night. Someone starts studying until ten, and others, in order not to fall behind, also study until ten. As a result, everyone is more tired, but the ranking is still the same. "Lying flat," on the other hand, is the completely opposite choice—giving up fierce competition, lowering desires, and living a simple, low-consumption life.

The word "involution" originally came from academic research. Later, it was used by young Chinese people to describe excessive competition in various fields such as education, the workplace, and marriage and dating. For example, in some company, employees originally worked eight hours a day, but someone voluntarily worked overtime until ten, and the boss praised him. So other people also began to work overtime, and in the end everyone had to work ten hours a day, but wages did not increase. This is a typical example of involution. Many young people complain that involution makes them feel exhausted and anxious, and even doubt their own value.