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Paying for Compliments
Illustration by Ryan Etter
Social media is often blamed for making people feel bad about themselves—but in Asia, a new online trend is trying to spread positivity. Chinese internet users have recently begun turning to so-called “praising groups,” where they can pay to be flooded with compliments. For the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars, a user can purchase 3 to 5 minutes of time. They’ll be invited to a group on WeChat, the country’s largest messaging app; hundreds of users will then shower them with good vibes. (A sample exchange: One participant complained of not being able to focus on reading, and another replied, “This means your knowledge level is higher than the book.”) It’s all to make people more comfortable with flattery, users say. “The initial purpose of this group is to make us learn to praise others and accept others’ praise confidently,” one group administrator told CNBC. “Here we can drop everything, use our heart to affirm and support others.”