Emotional Mobility in the New Media Era: The Pangmao Incident as an Example

Abstract

This study explores the mobility of emotions and its implications in the new media era, using the Pangmao incident as a case study, referring to the tragedy of a 21-year-old Chongqing man who jumped into a river to kill himself in 2024 due to emotional problems. The man, who went by the screen name "Pangmao", used to be a professional player of King's Honour, but later became a game trainer and enjoyed a certain reputation in the e-sports industry for his excellent gaming skills. However, his emotional relationship with his girlfriend has attracted widespread attention on new media platforms.In the incident, Pangmao paid a huge amount of money for his girlfriend, not only spending all his savings but even taking out a loan to meet his needs, but his girlfriend's betrayal and deception plunged him into despair. This incident spread rapidly on new media platforms, sparking widespread social concern and discussion. Netizens expressed their sympathy and anger at Pangmao's ordeal and condemned his girlfriend's behaviour on social media, forums and other platforms.By analysing the Pangmao incident, this study finds that the mobility of emotions in the new media era has significant characteristics. First, the new media platform provides a convenient channel for the dissemination of emotions, allowing them to spread rapidly around the world. Second, the expression of emotions on the new media platform is more intuitive and vivid, and emotions are more easily perceived and understood through a variety of forms such as text, pictures and videos. Finally, emotion communication on the new media platform has a group effect: once a certain emotion is recognised by the public, it spreads rapidly and has a far-reaching impact.This study also examines the impact of emotional mobility on society in the new media era. On the one hand, new media platforms provide more opportunities for the public to express their emotions and gain recognition, which helps promote social harmony and stability. On the other hand, new media platforms also increase the complexity and uncertainty of emotional communication, which can easily lead to social conflicts and contradictions. Therefore, we need to be more cautious about emotional communication in the new media era and cultivate critical thinking to cope with the complex and changing social environment.