A Comparative Study of the Life Cycles of Internet Buzzwords on Sina Weibo

Internet buzzwords are an important reflection of social mood and cultural mentality. This study employs content analysis and inductive reasoning, complemented by quantitative trend analysis and qualitative semantic interpretation. Using public microblog data, it investigates the transmission trajectories and semantic evolution of two representative internet buzzwords, "yyds" and "lie flat," through trend charts, word clouds, and thematic content analysis. Data collation found that "yyds" presented a pulse communication mode, relying on external hot events to promote, "lie flat" accompanied by the evolution of social issues, and the heat was highly synchronized with public policy discussions. The final research conclusion points out that there are essential differences between the two in communication power, semantic function and mentality mapping: "yyds" reflects the emotional identity and follow-up under consumerism, and "lie flat" reflects the alienation and resistance mentality of young people under social pressure, and jointly reveals the multiple roles of network catchwords as a social mood refractor.