Da Zi: New way of socializing among young people

Not long ago, the hash tag “more than half of the young got ‘Da Zi’” went viral on Weibo, viewed by two hundred million. Meanwhile, other tags related to “Da Zi” became trending search as wee.

“Da Zi” refers to a casual friendship. “Da Zi” may share the same hobbies based on similar tastes or comparable preferences without the need for spiritual resonance and even less effort to maintain.

This word once belonged to dialects in some places and now it earned new connotation. It is now a new way for young people’s social contact going increasingly popular among people.

Qian Qian, a user of Little Red Book, a lifestyle-sharing app, posted a message: A ‘Da Zi’ is needed! I was born in 1997 and now lives in Yuhang district of Hangzhou. Let’s hang out on weekends. Anything like going to talk shows, table gaming, or simply eating and photoing will be cool. I got good skills in photoing. If you have a camera too, it will be better we take photos for each other.

The message was sent in April this year which brought her many replying messages back. “I found a girl on WeChat. She asked me to hang out together. We had nice talks. And we went to talk show, bought clothes and took photos together,” said Qian Qian.

According to data, young people looking for “Da Zi” is quite common. As to May this year, the views of “Da Zi” has reached 20 million with more than 1.54 million related posts. Various “Da Zi” are wanted. With the reading quality of related topics on Weibo exceeding a hundred of million, seeking for “Da Zi” has become a trendy way for young people’s social life.

“Da Zi” can do diverse things like hitting the gym, studying in the library even discussing about philosophy. Whatever you want, you can do with your “Da Zi”.

Why this new way is getting popular? Here is the answer:
As social beings, humans need social connections to find emotional belonging, draw energy, and combat loneliness. When faced with unfamiliar places and crowds, individualized young people often tend to prioritize satisfying their own needs in interpersonal interactions.

Finding companions with shared interests and common goals precisely meets this requirement. The positive significance of "companionship" socialization lies in the fact that it is a burden-free casual social interaction while also providing a certain emotional compensation and fulfilling a specific purpose.

Experts suggest that though “Da Zi” is a convenient and nice way to get some social connection but one should be open to all and try to find real friendship and intimate relation.

Source: People’s Daily Oversea; trans-editing by Wang Yunya