逆托邦转向:当代青年“返老化”行为的社会机理

The Advent of Retrotopia:Contemporary Youth's"Retroaging"Practices and Its Social Mechanisms

“求神拜佛”“穿军大衣”“养生保健”“跳广场舞”等一系列具有“返老化”倾向的现象在社交媒体平台不断涌现。这种将过去生活视作生存界域的行为实践,反映出青年在个人理想、社会期待与现实结构困境的交叠下,朝稳定、可信任且有价值的过去追寻的乌托邦转向。本研究通过对青年群体“返老化”生活行为的考察分析,发现这类“逆托邦”青年将老年式生活实践作为调适身体困境、脱嵌内卷竞争、抵抗刻板代际行为划分的策略选择,促使原本平行的群体轨迹产生了情感交集,逆向弥合了代际隔阂,青年也得以从中汲取能量进而缓解生活意义匮乏或缺失的状况,突破了鲍曼对“逆托邦”悲观性看法的理论局限。

On social media platforms,trends such as"praying to gods,""wearing military-style cotton coats,""health care,"and"square dancing"-all exhibiting a tendency toward"retroaging"-are gaining popularity.This behavior,which embraces past lifestyles as a mode of existence,reflects a utopian shift among youth who seek stability,trustworthiness,and value in the past amidst the interplay of personal ideals,societal expectations,and structural challenges in reality.Through examining and analyzing young people's"retroaging"lifestyle behaviors,this study finds that these youth adopt elderly lifestyle practices as strategies to cope with physical challenges,disengage from intense competition,and resist stereotypical intergenerational behavior divisions.This phenomenon has fostered an emotional bond between two often disconnected generations,bridged generational gaps,and empowered youth,enabling them to engage more effectively in building the future.This dynamic challenges Bauman's pessimistic theoretical perspective on"retrotopia."