The Mediated Production Mechanism of Young People’s “Collective Acid Reflux” Emotional Meme: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the “Heartburn” Meme
Abstract
In the autumn of 2026, “heartburn” (shaoxin) evolved from a templated line in artificial intelligence (AI)-generated vernacular short dramas into an internet-wide code of empathy. The comment-section phrase “I got heartburn” and the praise-like “no heartburn” together constitute a youth emotional landscape that can be called “collective acid reflux.” Using Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework for critical discourse analysis, combined with semi-structured interviews and online fieldwork, this paper examines the textual structure, production-distribution chain, and social context of the “heartburn” meme. The study finds that the textual operation of the meme relies on a dual structure: The semantic reversal of the “stomach-heart” bodily metaphor and the ironic appropriation of “rules style” discourse. The templated production of AI short dramas provides a low-cost emotional “fuse”. Platform algorithms identify “reliability anxiety” as an amplifiable interaction signal. Users’ secondary creation and comment-section flooding complete the transformation from a template line to a collective ritual. Mediation does not manufacture discomfort. Rather, it transforms an ineffable sense of grievance into a replicable, circulable, and recognizable emotional symbol.
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