Social Death by Debt: China's Lending Boom Reshapes Lives
China's household debt has exploded from 11% of GDP in 2006 to over 62% today—a profound transformation in a traditionally savings-focused society. How is this reshaping social relationships and daily life?
In this episode, Dr. Jiaqi Guo from the University of Turku reveals findings from her corpus analysis of China's largest debt support forum. Her research uncovers the practice of "contact bombing" (爆通讯录), where collectors harass debtors' entire social networks, causing what Chinese debtors call "social death" (社死).
With minimal institutional protection, desperate debtors are forming…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.