Xinyi Li, Ying Lin*

School of Foreign Language and Literature, Wuhan University of Technology

Abstract：

This study employs a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach of meta-analysis to examine context collapse in social media posted on Rednote (Xiaohongshu) and Instagram by Chinese and British youth during commutes, revealing its connection to social fatigue and digital exhaustion. By analyzing linguistic features across ideational, interpersonal, and textual meta functions, this essay identifies how the interplay of audiences and social contexts entail homogeneous and ambiguous language use that deteriorates communicative stress. Comparative examples from both groups demonstrate consistent patterns of audience masking and emotional dilution despite platform-driven differences. The findings suggest that context collapse contributes to increasingly self-regulation fatigue and performance anxiety, intriguing broader societal pressures in digital environments. This research highlights the value of SFL meta-analysis for uncovering how linguistic choices index digital exhaustion and the pro-profit erosion of contextual boundaries in digital platforms.

Key Words：

SFL meta-analysis; context collapse; commutes; Chinese and british youth; social fatigue