Online posts offering to be insulted for money. Reporter Ma Zhiyong.
By reporter Mu Zhangtao
For just 10 yuan, you can get a service where the provider will endure your insults without retaliation. Recently, a post on the Dezhou Tieba forum about a mobile phone-based insult service has caught the attention of netizens. Psychological experts have expressed that enjoying such an insult service will not fundamentally relieve stress, and the person being insulted may suffer psychological distortion over time, with severe cases potentially leading to personality splitting.
The poster stated that he wanted to train his psychological resilience and earn some living expenses. After contacting the young man who posted it, the reporter learned that the man is in his early twenties and works at a pharmacy. Due to having to provide smiling service at work, he saw similar insult services online and thought he could also offer them, seeing it as a business opportunity. His close friends approved and even provided insult services via phone calls and other methods.
The reporter then logged onto Taobao and found over 1500 related items by searching "being insulted". Observing the merchants' transactions over the past month, the highest number of deals reached 227. In random conversations with merchants, the reporter learned that most merchants are under 30 years old. The services they provide are generally divided into three levels: Level one involves calling to insult, level two involves insulting via QQ, and level three involves insulting through Wangwang. Merchant "Stranger" mentioned that their customers come from all walks of life.
Regarding being insulted, merchants generally expressed indifference, and some were even proactive in engaging with customers, preparing to be insulted while also acting as listeners. Merchant "Beauty Online" said that few customers outright curse, mostly seeking psychological consultation or venting work pressure and family emotional issues. Merchant "Baby Don't Cry" mentioned that guiding others is a happy thing, but there are also many customers who start cursing right away and demand responses. Therefore, after pretending to be strong on the surface, they feel uncomfortable inside.
Experts disapprove of such stress relief
Regarding the insult service, Wang Xia, the training director of the Dezhou Psychological Association, expressed that cursing does indeed have a certain buffering effect on psychological pressure. However, in the long term, it will increase one's psychological burden, making it difficult to cure once psychological illnesses form.
She also noted that the virtual network is still a social group. Once the habit of cursing forms in the virtual world, it will unconsciously carry over into real life. Losing control of emotions may lead to extreme behavior. Moreover, since merchants lack professional psychological knowledge, they might mislead customers, not only failing to alleviate psychological pressure but also causing adverse consequences.
Regarding merchants providing insult services, Director Wang Xia also disapproves of their actions. "Being cursed can form or exacerbate feelings of inferiority, and long-term exposure to insults will affect one’s life and values, causing psychological distortion. Severe cases can lead to personality splitting." She further indicated that being humiliated in virtual life would manifest in real life, and when encountering matters, people might resort to violent retaliation against others.