Symbolic emotional coping: a study of canned yellow peaches consumption via social media in China

This study investigates how people in China used canned yellow peaches as a coping mechanism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how cultural meanings and social media shaped perceived benefits and significance for emotional well-being. We conducted a thematic analysis of 577 social media posts and 26 media articles and identified two core themes: (1) comfort food and food as medicine, wherein peaches were framed as soothing, quasi-therapeutic resources rooted in memory, identity, and nostalgia; and (2) social media as a feedback loop, wherein online circulation amplified, normalized, and reinforced these meanings. Building on these findings, we propose the concept of symbolic emotional coping – a multifaceted psychological and social process in which individuals mobilize culturally resonant symbols to manage distress, foster social bonds, and create meaning during crisis. This study contributes to current research by conceptualizing symbolic emotional coping to show how comfort foods function as placebo-like symbols of resilience, identity, and community, and by demonstrating how social media amplify and sustain these meanings, shaping emotions and behaviors.