The Utopian Cat:"Cyber Cat Petting" Fanatics' Identity And Fantasy

"Cyber cat petting" means satisfying the desire of cat sucking by watching pictures and videos of cats on the Internet.Thanks to the popularity of social networks and photo transmission,cyber cat petting fanatics quickly gathered up and even became part of the daily life of countless young people.This article focuses on cat petting as the "cyber cat petting,"the puzzling phenomenon in Cyberspace.In this paper,the cyber cat petting is included in the subculture research field,and qualitative research methods are adopted.Through observing the subculture characteristics of the cyber cat petting fanatics,this paper speculatively interpretes the reasons for the popularity of the cyber cat petting phenomenon and analyze the new forms and trends of young subculture forms in Cyberspace.The popularity of cyber cat petting is attributed to the communication advantages brought by the development of new media technology,and it is also inextricably linked to the media using habit of young people today.New social networks have brought visual culture to its heyday,and images are gradually replacing reality,which makes it possible to get a sense of satisfaction by browsing the cat's image.Through observing the cyber cat petting fanatics,it was found that this group is mainly composed of urban youth.They regard cat sucking as a "life-saving channel" to escape from the pressure of real life,a new way to cure decompression,so the popularity of cat sucking is also a outbreak of anxiety in contemporary urban youth.The reason why cyber cat petting can sweep Cyberspace with the power of the prairie fire is precisely because of the advent of the term "cyber cat petting." "cyber cat petting" has become a culture symbol leading this subculture and like a unified action password.Assembled,under this cultural symbol,"petting" represents a meaning of spiritual healing.Cats are mythical spiritual totems constructed by fascination.They project their subjective delusions on cats and enlarge them.The habit of cats are raised to the height of an anthropomorphic character,and then they constructs the function and meaning of cats:cats are the best placebos for the soul and they spread their"beliefs" to the outside of the group continuously.In addition to the media's ambiguity that demystifies cats,the mythical nature of cats contlinues to be consolidated.The group of cyber cat petting is a "new tribes" nomadic in Cyberspace.They have no unified fixed activity space,and they do not use their unconventional style symbols to highlight their subculture identity.This also represents contemporary trend of youth subculture within the Cyberspace:the dissipation of style,the weakening of resistance,and the fragmentation of cultural forms.The phenomenon of cat sucking also reflects the current era of the lack of beliefs and empty spirits of contemporary young people.