291 Internet Celebrity

Who is your favorite youtuber? Do you prefer to spend time browsing the internet and social media, or watching TV? Josh Edbrooke from Transition discusses with ShaoLan the rise of the “internet celebrity” and the way that media has been changing in recent years to put a lot of power and influence in the hands of the “internet celebrities.” ShaoLan teaches the Chinese word for “internet celebrity” as well as some other vocabulary related to the internet. They even have a discussion on the emergence of the “internet celebrity generation” and the benefits or pitfalls of it.

The Chinese word for “internet celebrity” is 網紅/网红. The first character means “web” or “net” and is shorthand for the “internet,” while the second character is the color “red.” In this case, the color red can also be used to describe something or someone who is popular, so to be “red” is to be “popular,” hence, “web red” means “internet popular” or “internet celebrity” 網紅/网红.