Video-sharing websites are not only about movies and TV programs. For many viewers, danmu, which literally means "bullet screen (弹幕)", isemotional shot to the heart.
On Dec 4, "AWSL" was named "2019 Bilibili's Bullet Chat of the Year". By Dec 4, it had appeared about 3.3 million times in 2019. According to Bilibili, AWSL is short for "A, wo si le" in Mandarin, which means "Ah, I'm(die)" in English. The term refers to a mixture of emotions related to happiness and (excite), and the strong emotional experience of "(hit) hard" when someone expresses a deep fondness for certain things and ideas.
, the popularity of "AWSL" across Bilibili bullet chats is not accidental, according to Gao Hanning, a post-doctorate at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Literature. "People have a highly interactive and enjoyable viewing experience, allows users to make connections with others online who may share similar desires and interests," he added, "andthe term reflects is contemporary youth culture, a great medium for online interaction."
Bullet screens have become an（increase) important way for young people to express(them) in China, particularly among people born between 1996 and 2010. Since 2018, the number of bullet screens people send(grow) from 1 billion to 1.4 billion.
