Enter the online craze of the "Jia Junpeng phenomenon"
Recently, the post titled "Jia Junpeng, your mom calls you to come home for dinner" has amassed a large fanbase. Some say that it is the word "call" that unleashed netizens' need to vent; others say it is the phrase "mom calls you" that awakened dormant family affection; still others say it is "come home for dinner" that ignited the collective loneliness of netizens searching for a sense of belonging. And even more people claim that because "World of Warcraft" had been offline for over a month, and with over 5 million players feeling "too lonely," they went crazy supporting this "water post."
As Jia Junpeng became wildly popular, netizens in their replies developed parodies into international and classic versions. Besides changing the sentence "Jia Junpeng, your mom calls you to come home for dinner" into various dialects and foreign languages, netizens also posted a large number of pictures edited through Photoshop. Netizens with profound literary skills even compiled this event into "The Records of the Grand Historian: The Biography of Jia Junpeng": "Jia Junpeng, styled Fanfou, born year unknown... Peng had not returned home for three days, his mother was very worried, unable to eat in fear, so she sent a relative to post on the forum where Peng usually frequents, and thousands searched together."
"Loneliness" phrasing spreads everywhere
The myth of over 10 million clicks caused by the "Jia Junpeng" post has made the most promoted reply by netizens: "I'm not following the post, I'm following loneliness," which was constantly copied and pasted by netizens. Currently, there is even an appearance of the "loneliness gang" online —— Brother did not post, but loneliness; what you see is not a post, but loneliness; if you also join in PSing, we will all not be lonely; Brother does not flood, but loneliness; I don't use a mobile phone, but loneliness; Sister pretends not to be cool, but loneliness... Such imitative phrasings seem boring to outsiders. After the Jia Junpeng incident, netizens who enjoy "boredom" have gained pleasure from "loneliness." Wherever they go, they leave behind the shadow of "loneliness." This phrasing has grown like a snowball, spreading like a virus, taking over the mainstream discourse power of the internet.
Nowadays, in the overwhelming follow-up posts, one can see replies in the format of "(who) isn't (doing something), but loneliness." Some posts directly use such phrasing as titles, while the posts themselves lack substantial content, yet they can still attract countless netizens to leave similar-phrased comments. The overwhelming "loneliness gang" has provoked some netizens to raise the banner against loneliness. A netizen posted "Loneliness Gang, Please Respect Yourselves" warning the loneliness gang not to be too arrogant.
Themed T-shirts sell well
Some people saw the business opportunity hidden within the "Jia Junpeng" event and boldly sold personalized T-shirts printed with "Jia Junpeng, your mom calls you to come home for dinner" in their Taobao store. A Beijing seller named the T-shirt: The world's first "Your mom calls you to come home for dinner" themed T-shirt, priced at 49 yuan. In the design origin section, it reads: "This sentence has become a popular internet slang in July 2009. In fact, deep down, we want to shout with you: Your mom calls you to come home for dinner!" This resonated with many netizens.
By the time of reporting, the journalist saw that this product, just launched not long ago, had successfully sold dozens of pieces. Regarding the idea of selling "Mom calls you to come home for dinner" T-shirts, many netizens expressed that the shop owner was smart, knowing how to turn timing into business opportunities, and simultaneously leveraging the powerful consumer base of the online shopping platform. As soon as the hotspot appeared, the creative idea followed suit. This operational method easily made the store instantly popular, significantly enhancing future store traffic and sales, worth learning from for other sellers.
The Song of Jia Junpeng
"In the summer of 2009, inside the Baidu Warcraft forum, an ancient prophecy: Jia Junpeng doesn't like eating, his mom cried red-eyed, already searching for many days. Where is my Peng? Come home quickly for dinner, Jia Junpeng, your mom calls you to come home for dinner. One bite costs ten dollars, finish and mom will give you twenty thousand, Jia Junpeng, your mom calls you to come home for dinner. Junpeng disappeared from the world, human flesh searches are no longer effective. Searched everywhere and still cannot find, little brat appear quickly. Which internet cafe are you practicing in? The internet cafe's atmosphere is murky and smoky. How much money do you still have? Don't starve yourself inside."
A netizen created "The Song of Jia Junpeng" using the background music excerpt from "Notre Dame de Paris - The Cathedral Era," which became the Chinese internet post with the most follow-ups after the "Jia Junpeng" post. "The Song of Jia Junpeng" sparked enthusiastic sharing among netizens. Many netizens left comments after listening to the song, praising the lyrics as well-written and evoking a poignant feeling. However, some netizens felt that the author's mockery of Jia Junpeng and Junpeng's mom was a bit unkind.
"I am not Song Seung-heon, you look at me tenderly saying come home for dinner, causing me to be surrounded by crowds who don't know the truth. You make me restless, doing push-ups and looking expressionless. Mountain flowers are bright red, come have a bowl of beef noodles, I am not Jia Junpeng, not the tough guy Sylvester Stallone. It seems the situation is serious, better return a call, here you go. I am not Jia Junpeng, cannot sincerely practice kung fu, I've emerged from isolation feeling good, please rest assured, dear countrymen. Dear mom, I am in the internet cafe, I promise I am not watching Maria Ozawa. The food here is good, equipped with 'Donkey King,' after finishing this dungeon, I'll go home. Brother is no longer in the江湖 (gang/jianghu), but the legend of Brother remains, Brother doesn't eat rice, but eats loneliness..."
In response to the search for Jia Junpeng's whereabouts, "I Am Not Jia Junpeng" received praise for its creativity.
Download address for "The Song of Jia Junpeng": http://www.dvd1990.com/zyp/1725/