America is no longer trendy, and surprisingly, China has become the new obsession among young people. At least that’s what’s happening on TikTok and Twitch, where a new phenomenon called “Chinamaxxing” is rapidly spreading across social media platforms. The trend involves young Americans claiming they are “becoming Chinese” by adopting various cultural practices, from drinking warm water in the morning to practicing tai chi in their kitchens, mastering chopsticks, and wearing Adidas tracksuits to achieve the look of an older gentleman from Beijing. However, Chinamaxxing is not just about playing with identity or adopting a lifestyle, it often includes openly disparaging America and making a symbolic aesthetic, moral, and political switch to align with the other world superpower.
Social media is flooded with posts from young people who claim someone met them while they were in their “Chinese phase.” Many of these new habits, such as removing shoes before entering an apartment or using herbal remedies, appear harmless on the surface. All of this is accompanied by typical Generation Z humor, including ironic memes with prophecies that you will “become Chinese tomorrow” or grainy photos of cats wearing conical straw hats that perfectly fit their often cryptic internet sensibility. Yet this trend crosses the line from simple internet humor into the zone of uncritical cultural fetishization, moving beyond previous waves of enthusiasm for Korean K-pop, Latin music thanks to Bad Bunny, Scandinavian interior design styles, or French high fashion.
This new fascination with China is not based on enthusiasm for a particular cultural product, but rather on Generation Z’s deep need to distance themselves from their own American identity, according to The Post. The phenomenon gained additional momentum when Hasan Piker, a political streamer popular among Generation Z, traveled to China and live-streamed his impressions from Beijing on Twitch. At one point, standing in Tiananmen Square, he stated that “in his heart he doesn’t feel a shred of patriotism toward America.” Although he was briefly detained for publicly displaying an AI-generated meme showing himself as Mao Zedong, Piker continued to insist that China is, in his opinion, currently the most ideal form of government.
@ceme_2 I’m in a very Chinese time in my life #chinesetiktok ♬ original sound – Kanski Art
In a recent podcast episode about Chinamaxxing, journalist Taylor Lorenz, who tracks internet culture, said that Piker told her he is “the most Chinese” and “a real white Chinese.” Lorenz attempted to explain why China has suddenly become attractive to young Americans, stating “It seems like a kind of paradise onto which Americans project their own hopes, because their country currently seems completely hopeless to them.” The idea of China as a destination of hope may sound exaggerated, but statistics support the sense of disappointment among young people. Only 41 percent of Generation Z members say they are proud to be Americans, and just 26 percent believe that the United States is the best country in the world.
Many young people have grown up with smartphones, constantly exposed to negative news and widespread social polarization. In such a context, China can appear to them as a mystical, unknown refuge, a black box onto which they project what they feel is missing in America, including order, community, and clear purpose. For a generation that feels lost and disenfranchised in their own country, Chinamaxxing becomes a form of resistance and an attempt to find meaning, shaped through a cultural shift while simultaneously publicly rejecting American values. This movement reflects a broader crisis of national identity among American youth, who are searching for alternatives to what they perceive as a broken system at home.
Generation Z, born roughly between 1997 and 2012, represents the first truly digital-native generation, having grown up with social media, smartphones, and constant internet connectivity from an early age. This generation has witnessed significant national and global crises during their formative years, including the 2008 financial crisis, increasing political polarization, climate change anxieties, the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising economic inequality. These experiences have shaped their worldview and contributed to their skepticism toward traditional American institutions and values. Unlike previous generations who largely accepted American exceptionalism as a given, Generation Z is more likely to question their country’s place in the world and seek inspiration from alternative cultural and political models.
The concept of cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation has been widely debated in recent years, particularly on social media platforms where Generation Z is most active. While earlier trends involving foreign cultures were often criticized for being superficial or disrespectful, the Chinamaxxing phenomenon raises questions about the motivations behind adopting another culture’s practices. Critics argue that romanticizing China while ignoring its complex political realities and human rights concerns represents a form of naive idealism. The trend highlights how young people are using cultural identity as a form of political expression, even when their understanding of the adopted culture may be limited to what they see through carefully curated social media content.
What do you think about this growing trend of young Americans adopting Chinese cultural practices and distancing themselves from their own national identity? Share your thoughts in the comments.
