What is the Wilderness Beyond the Track: Navigating Self-Construal and Identity Formation Among Chinese Youth Amid Collectivist Heritage and Individualistic Modernization

This study examines the growing popularity of the metaphor “life is a wilderness” in Chinese online discourse and its role in reflecting the identity struggles of young people in a rapidly transforming society. Using an online ethnographic approach, this research analyzes posts on Xiaohongshu, a platform where young people share their thoughts, struggles, and aspirations. By exploring how the metaphor is employed to express the desire for freedom, provide self-consolation after failure, and convey cultural resistance, this study clarifies the shifting self-construal of Chinese youth in an era of cultural transformation. It also highlights the risks of misinterpreting the metaphor and suggests practical interventions at the family, school, and societal levels to support the development of a stable and healthy self-identity.