The Influence of Internet-Disseminated "Sang Culture" on Adolescent Depression

The rapid proliferation of internet and social media platforms has significantly expanded the dissemination and influence of youth subcultures, facilitating adolescents' engagement with diverse digital environments. Among these, "Sang culture"a social phenomenon characterized by pervasive negativity, self-deprecatory behavior, and decadencehas emerged as a prominent subtype, often expressed through humor and irony as mechanisms of affect regulation. Although serving as a psychological defense strategy, the intrinsically pessimistic orientation of Sang culture has the potential to exacerbate depressive symptomatology among adolescents. This research applies the 4P model to elucidate the pathways through which Sang culture impacts adolescent depression. Empirical evidence suggests that adolescents, in a crucial but psychologically immature developmental stage, are particularly vulnerable to distorted self-concept and learned helplessness resulting from sustained exposure to negative diagnostic content within Sang culture. Contributing factors include deficits in family communication, insufficient mental health literacy within educational institutions, and algorithmic amplification of negative online contentall of which intensify its adverse effects. While Sang culture possesses inherently maladaptive features, its elements of social critique and collective identity offer avenues for constructive transformation. Multifactorial intervention strategiesincluding familial psychosocial support, school-based mental health promotion, and regulatory oversight of online contentcan attenuate its detrimental effects and support positive identity development. This study aims to inform parents, educators, and mental health professionals about the associated risks, proposing targeted interventions such as enhancement of emotional support mechanisms, expansion of psychological education, reinforcement of internet content regulation, and development of adaptive coping skills to bolster adolescent mental health resilience.