网抑云

What does 网抑云 mean?

In the summer of 2020, Chinese netizens began calling NetEase Cloud Music 网抑云, swapping its name around to accuse the app of hosting an ocean of performative melancholy. The comment sections were famous for late-night confessions, quotes from novels, and phrases like “I am sorry for being born,” and screenshots circulated to mock the more theatrical examples. Meme versions soon followed, such as 老网抑云了 for someone who leans into the mood, and the counter slogan 网愈云, meaning healing cloud, was coined by users and later picked up by the platform itself. The word carries real criticism too: people used it to point at content that dressed up ordinary sadness as deep suffering.

Where does 网抑云 come from?

The pun appeared in the summer of 2020, when Weibo and Douban users assembled screenshots of overwrought comments from NetEase Cloud Music. Media coverage in early August 2020, including pieces by 上游新闻 and 36氪, drew wider attention to the meme. On 3 August 2020 NetEase Cloud Music responded with a comment section healing plan, tightening moderation and promising to shelter users who were struggling, while internet users adopted 网愈云 as a softer alternative.

How to use 网抑云

• 凌晨三点刷评论区，感觉全世界的伤心事都堆在网抑云了。
  Língchén sān diǎn shuā pínglùnqū, gǎnjué quán shìjiè de shāngxīn shì dōu duī zài wǎngyìyún le.
  Scrolling the comments at three in the morning, it feels like every sad story in the world has piled up on this music app.
• 他发朋友圈说“生而为人，我很抱歉”，朋友回他：别网抑云了，早点睡。
  Tā fā péngyǒu quān shuō shēng ér wéi rén, wǒ hěn bàoqiàn, péngyou huí tā: bié wǎngyìyún le, zǎo diǎn shuì.
  He posted “I am sorry for being born” on Moments, and a friend shot back that he should quit the fake sadness and go to sleep.