约炮 (yuē pào)

ETYMOLOGY

The rise of 『约炮』 mirrors China's digital sexual revolution. When WeChat launched 'People Nearby' in 2012, this once-taboo term went mainstream. Early adopters on Baidu Tieba used coded language like 'wanna study together?' until content moderators caught on.

The real game-changer came in 2016 live-streaming boom. A popular streamer accidentally broadcast a hookup request, creating the legendary 'Hook-up Fail' meme that spawned countless reaction GIFs. This incident ironically normalized the term in pop culture.

COVID-19 birthed the 'cloud hookup' phenomenon - virtual intimacy through voice/video sessions. Data from social app Soul shows 300% spike in related searches. As one Douban user poetically observed: 'We're not chasing hookups, just the soundtrack to our loneliness.'

Examples:

'Is this escape room gathering just another hookup trap?''Modern romance: Get married in the morning, delete hookup apps by afternoon'