作者：杨长兵

编辑：李晶 校对：王滨 翻译：戈冰

近年来，“躺平”一词迅速在中文互联网传播。从最初带有自嘲意味的网络表达，逐渐演变成许多年轻人共同的情绪符号。它并不是一种组织化运动，也并非明确的政治主张，而更像是在高压力社会环境中的一种被动回应。

但近来，一些官方或半官方叙事开始将“躺平文化”与“境外势力”“意识形态渗透”甚至“国家安全风险”联系在一起。原本属于社会情绪层面的现象，逐渐被纳入“安全化叙事”的框架之中。这种变化，也引发了外界对于“社会情绪政治化”的讨论。

事实上，“躺平”并不是突然出现的意识形态现象，而是长期社会压力积累后的结果。过去十多年，中国社会竞争持续加剧。高房价、高教育成本、就业压力、青年失业率上升，以及越来越明显的阶层固化，让许多人开始重新思考“努力与回报”的关系。

与此同时，高强度劳动逐渐常态化。互联网行业长期存在“996”现象，制造业超时劳动普遍存在，而外卖、网约车等平台经济，更将收入与劳动时间直接绑定：跑得越久，收入越高；接单越多，平台权重越高；一旦停下来，收入便迅速下降。在这种结构下，“休息”本身甚至都会带来焦虑。

过去，“奋斗”意味着更稳定的生活与更清晰的上升空间；但当竞争不断加剧、回报却越来越不确定时，一部分年轻人开始主动降低欲望，以减少投入、退出竞争的方式缓解长期内耗。因此，“躺平”本质上更像是一种心理防御机制，而非某种政治对抗。

从社会学角度来看，这与日本“低欲望社会”、韩国“放弃一代”等现象并无本质区别。其核心，都是个体在面对结构性压力时产生的自我调适。但问题在于，当一种社会情绪被迅速纳入“风险叙事”之后，它的性质也随之改变——从“需要理解的问题”，变成了“需要治理的对象”。而将所有消极情绪归因于“外部势力”，也容易忽视一个更基本的现实：社会情绪首先来源于社会内部，而并非外部输入。

如果年轻人长期面临高工时、低安全感与上升困难，那么疲惫感本身就会自然产生，并不需要任何力量刻意“制造”。“内卷”之所以成为高频词汇，也正因为越来越多人感受到：投入越来越大，但回报却越来越不确定。当长期奋斗无法换来稳定预期时，“躺平”便成为部分人降低内耗的一种选择。

一个社会中，当越来越多情绪只能通过“沉默退出”来表达时，真正值得关注的，也许并不是“躺平”本身，而是社会是否仍然保留对现实问题进行正常讨论与回应的空间。理解它，或许比定义它更重要。

When “Lying Flat” Is Defined as a Risk

Author: Yang Changbing

Editor: Li Jing Proofreader: Wang Bin Translator: Ge Bing

In recent years, the term “lying flat” has spread rapidly across the Chinese internet. What began as a self-deprecating online expression has gradually evolved into a shared emotional symbol for many young people. It is not an organized movement, nor is it a clear political stance; rather, it resembles a passive response to a high-pressure social environment.

Recently, however, some official or semi-official narratives have begun linking “lying-flat culture” to “foreign forces,” “ideological infiltration,” and even “national security risks.” A phenomenon that originally belonged to the realm of social sentiment has gradually been incorporated into the framework of “security-oriented narratives.” This shift has also sparked public debate regarding the “politicization of social emotions.”

In fact, “lying flat” is not a sudden ideological phenomenon, but rather the result of long-term accumulated social pressures. Over the past decade or so, social competition in China has intensified continuously. High housing prices, exorbitant education costs, employment pressures, rising youth unemployment, and increasingly evident social stratification have led many to rethink the relationship between “effort and reward.”

At the same time, high-intensity labor has gradually become the norm. The “996” work schedule has long been prevalent in the internet industry, and overtime is widespread in manufacturing. Meanwhile, the platform economy—encompassing food delivery and ride-hailing services—directly links income to working hours: the longer one works, the higher the income; the more orders accepted, the higher one’s platform ranking; and the moment one stops, income plummets. Under this structure, “rest” itself can even become a source of anxiety.

In the past, “striving” promised a more stable life and clearer prospects for upward mobility; but as competition intensifies while rewards grow increasingly uncertain, some young people are proactively scaling back their aspirations—reducing their investment and withdrawing from the race to alleviate long-term internal strain. Thus, “lying flat” is essentially a psychological defense mechanism rather than a form of political resistance.

From a sociological perspective, this phenomenon is fundamentally no different from Japan’s “low-desire society” or South Korea’s “generation of renunciation.” At their core, these are all forms of self-adjustment by individuals in the face of structural pressures. The problem, however, lies in the fact that once a social sentiment is rapidly incorporated into a “risk narrative,” its nature changes—from a “problem requiring understanding” to an “object requiring governance.” Furthermore, attributing all negative sentiments to “external forces” tends to overlook a more fundamental reality: social sentiments originate primarily from within society, not from external influences.

If young people are constantly confronted with long working hours, a lack of job security, and difficulties in advancing their careers, a sense of exhaustion will naturally arise on its own—it does not require any external force to deliberately “manufacture” it. The reason “involution” has become such a frequently used term is precisely because an increasing number of people feel that while their investment is growing, the returns are becoming increasingly uncertain. When long-term struggle fails to yield stable prospects, “lying flat” becomes a choice for some to reduce internal friction.

In a society where more and more emotions can only be expressed through “silent withdrawal,” what truly warrants attention may not be “lying flat” itself, but whether society still retains the space for normal discussion and response to real-world problems. Understanding it may be more important than defining it.