Web3 Reading Series (2): Unpacking the Past and Present of “PUA”

In today’s internet-driven era, the speed at which words spread often far outpaces our understanding of their true meaning. By the time certain terms become popular, their original definitions have often been diluted, distorted, or completely reshaped. For example, “meme” is now mostly associated with funny cat and dog images, “PUA” has become synonymous with “emotional manipulation,” and the “dark forest rule” is frequently used to describe the crypto world’s survival game. Yet, behind these words lies a deeper cultural and historical background worth exploring.

In today’s Chinese online community, “PUA” is almost exclusively associated with psychological manipulation and emotional control. However, its original meaning was quite different. PUA stands for “Pick-Up Artist” — literally “搭讪艺术家” in Chinese — and rose to fame following the release of Neil Strauss’s bestseller “The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.” The book explores how a group of men in North America used psychological techniques, linguistic patterns, and body language to improve their success in dating and social interactions. It even gave birth to an entire theoretical framework called “The Game,” complete with books, seminars, and training programs.

At its core, the original concept of PUA was about enhancing social skills and facilitating smoother communication. For example, telling a beautiful woman she’s “pretty” might feel redundant and ineffective, as she likely hears it all the time. A more strategic approach would be starting a conversation around an unrelated, engaging topic, creating a more balanced and natural interaction.

However, like many techniques, once PUA was separated from the principles of voluntariness and equality, it became vulnerable to misuse. Some individuals began exploiting these methods to control others emotionally, manipulate psychological vulnerabilities, and engineer unequal relationships. Over time, this darker side became dominant in public perception, leading PUA to be heavily stigmatized in China, almost completely divorced from its original idea of “social skills.”

Interestingly, a similar phenomenon exists in the crypto and Web3 world — not in emotional relationships, but in community-building, marketing, and investor psychology. Some project teams leverage psychological tactics to shape investor behavior, such as constantly hyping massive future gains, exaggerating project potential, and fostering a “fear of missing out” mindset. This mirrors emotional PUA in essence: influencing someone’s decision-making by creating an imbalanced psychological dynamic where they act in favor of the manipulator’s interests — often without full rationality.

By understanding the origin and evolution of PUA, we gain better insight into distinguishing between genuine, equal communication and deliberate manipulation — whether in personal relationships or within the crypto investment landscape.

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