In China, one social media trend hangs on the idea that a life in the US is always one step from disaster, while another in the US has gen Z revelling in Chinese lifestyle hacks
Across two online worlds that are normally splintered, over the last few months there has been a mirroring of sorts. On TikTok and Instagram, young people are diving into the joys of Chinese culture – from drinking hot water to playing mahjong – all under the banner of “Chinamaxxing”. On the Chinese internet, however, the US is losing its decades-long grip on soft power, and is instead being replaced by a darker trend: the kill line.
The kill line is a dangerous place to be. In gaming, the term refers to the point at which a player’s strength is so depleted that one more blow could lead to total wipeout. In China, the term refers to the risks that come with daily life in the US.
In recent months, the Chinese media has been flooded with discussion of the so-called “kill line” that exists in US society. The social media posts, news articles, podcasts and blogs describe a vision of the US as a dystopian capitalist hell. One video shared by a state-run account on RedNote shows a homeless man talking about how he used to earn a six-figure salary. (The post claims that the video comes from the US and that the man earned $450,000; in fact the clip is taken from an old video about homelessness on the streets of London).
