Having a bad day? You can pay people to shower you with praise on WeChat

WeChat and QQ are full of groups that will turn any situation into a compliment

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Cheesy as the lines are, I didn’t want my session to be over. (Picture: WeChat)

Xinmei Shen

Published: 10:00pm, 14 Mar 2019Updated: 8:59am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

The internet isn't always a happy place. But there are groups dedicated to changing that.

Chat groups where people shower you with over-the-top compliments and cheesy but positive messages (for a price, of course) are gaining popularity in China. Kuakuaqun, meaning praising groups, are on WeChat and QQ.

WeChat, the app that does everything

But these aren't just generic compliments. These groups are full of people who find extremely creative ways to find a silver lining in any dark cloud.

Here’s one of the most popular praises circulating on social media. A person fishing for compliments said: “I can’t focus on reading.” The gold-star response? “This means your knowledge level is higher than the book.”

Another popular one starts with: “My roommate is a girl.” How can you possibly turn a plain statement like that into praise? Watch the professionals in action: "You can tell that your roommate is a girl? You have eyes for discovering treasures.” And “You now have what I dream about having.”

I wanted to hear some creative ways to compliment people -- no, seriously, I didn't need a mid-work compliment, honest -- so I searched for “praising group” on Taobao. There were at least a dozen vendors, so I picked the most popular one and bought myself a praising session for five minutes, costing 50 yuan (US$7.45).