The latest photo taken at China’s well-known Tsinghua University became a hit, where a student was seen using his laptop while riding on a bike. The moral of the story is that wasting time on things like commuting between university facilities becomes unacceptable, since the pressure to graduate top of the class is so intense.

Into the real world, working extra hours is a common practice of China’s most brilliant figures in technology. In finite overtime, premature balding (秃顶) and hospital admissions are all but part of standard professional life for the nation’s brightest. Similarly, blue-collar workers don’t have it easier. Food delivery riders are reportedly trapped by an algorithm (算法) that automatically works out the best delivery time for app users, and never minds if the workers are at the risk of road accidents.

People are wondering whether all this hard work really makes life better. Actually, it may well be making things harder for everyone, but there doesn’t seem to be a way out. A popular sense of being stuck in an ever so exhausting rat race where everyone loses has given rise to a new buzzword: neijuan (involution). The Chinese word, neijuan, is made up of the characters for “inside” and “rolling”, and is understood as something that spirals in on itself, a process that traps participants who know they won’t benefit from it.

“From a sociological point of view, involution is unavoidable because of society’s structural shifts,” said Yan Fei, a professor of sociology at Tsinghua University, “One big question for the middle class is how to remain in the middle class. Meanwhile, the lower class still hopes to change their fate. But the middle and upper classes aren’t so much looking upward, and they are marked by a deep fear of falling downward. Their greater fear is perhaps losing what they already have,” he explained.

Billions will be spent trying to deal with a bargain (便宜货) in the approach to Christmas. But as close attention turns to whether or not the deals on offer are really cheep, instead of marketing tricks, spare a thought for the thousands of extra deliveries that will be made and the resulting crowding and blockage, CO2 emissions (释放), and stress that this shopping holiday creates.

Demand for more drivers highlights the highly seasonal nature of shopping, with similar increases on Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and the run up to Christmas. Although the industry is constantly learning from past mistakes to better serve customers, it ignores extremely important energy, ability to move around and health issues. Behind the scenes, the basic equipment that makes all this online shopping possible is huge—the extra delivery vans (货车) add to already crowded and blocked roads, and drivers suffer from stress and tiredness. Seasonal shopping events like Black Friday harm people and the planet.

One medium-sized business in London recently told us that roughly 75% of the goods received by its front desk in the run up to Christmas were personal packages. Extremely importantly, in a hub-and-spoke (辐射状的) model, not only do these packages arrive from different vans travelling long distances from different warehouses (仓库), but delivery results in travelling on some of the most precious, crowded and blocked and polluted streets in London—simply to service online shopping preferences.

At this early stage of the next evolution of shopping, it is important that we consider the benefits and broader societal costs of different shopping and delivery options. Or else we will risk fighting with our responsibilities to cut carbon and improve air quality in cities.

For young people with autism（自闭症），growing into adulthood can have its own challenges. But students at the non-profit educational program Exceptional Minds prove that autism can also mean special talents.

Madeline Petti is an example of how Exceptional Minds helps students with autism seek and reach their full potential. "I want the world to know that I like designing things and Exceptional Minds is a great place for me. ” Madeline is part of a new wave of digital effects artists. She is a young, talented student who has autism. She is learning all about the entertainment industry with Exceptional Minds， which provides vocational（职业的） training for young adults with autism.

Madeline has played video games since the 4th grade． She has also always loved watching animated（动画的） shows. But she said she had a torturous time learning in traditional settings. “I get bored easily when I’m just sitting there and people are talking around me. I’m not really personally devoted to the material. When you are not personally devoted, you have to force yourself to stay in the moment and pay attention. If you don’t have the motivation to force yourself, you are pretty much going off into your personal La La Land. ”

Exceptional Minds provided the right kind of learning environment for Madeline. More action, less talking. She said, “I like coming here because it’s so hands-on. We get shown examples or we will follow along with the directions. I guess we are doing more. ”

Ernie Merlan is an EM program director. He said, “The heart of our program is a full time three-year vocational program specifically for the entertainment industry. The program teaches the students not only the technical skills they need but the work readiness skills they need in order to get a job. So we focus on how they look and what their attitude is, and then work place conflict which we all have. ”