Learning together

According to her, these rooms usually discourage chatting, but some participants may turn on their webcams to showcase their study sessions. "You can hear them writing or flipping through books, which makes me feel like I'm in a library," Zhang said.

"Everyone wants a study buddy, but real-life social interactions can sometimes be stressful. On the other side of the webcam are complete strangers, yet we're all doing the same thing — studying and working toward our own goals. You can genuinely feel a sense of companionship without the pressure," Zhang added.

Mutual companionship

Liu Shuxia, from Ulaanqab in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, highly values the emotional support she gains through "companion studying".

The 25-year-old began preparing for her postgraduate entrance exam two years ago. At the time, she felt lost and lonely as her former classmates had moved on to different stages of life, making it difficult to seek their advice or confide in them.

In search of connection, Liu joined Douban's Pre-Exam Anxiety Group, where she interacted with like-minded people and also watched videos by study vloggers.

While watching these videos, Liu paid special attention not only to the vloggers themselves but also to the messages and bullet comments from other viewers, many of whom shared insights and study schedules.