'Digital ibuprofen' offers Chinese youth comfort through cute characters facing familiar struggles

What happened

In China, young people are encountering a myriad of challenges, from societal pressures around success to life in a highly surveilled society, that have led them to turn to the internet in search of a balm to soothe their pain. What has emerged is a host of content called "digital ibuprofen"—viewed as a way to numb the anxieties of modern living.