内卷，网络流行语，原指一类文化模式达到了某种最终的形态以后，既没有办法稳定下来，也没有办法转变为新的形态，而只能不断地在内部变得更加复杂的现象。经网络流传，很多高等学校学生用其来指代非理性的内部竞争或“被自愿”竞争。现指同行间竞相付出更多努力以争夺有限资源，从而导致个体“收益努力比”下降的现象。可以看作是努力的“通货膨胀”。
Involution, a popular Internet term, originally refers to the phenomenon that after a cultural model reaches a certain final form, it has no way to stabilize or transform into a new form, but can only become more complex internally. After being circulated on the Internet, many college students use it to refer to irrational internal competition or “voluntary” competition. Now it refers to the phenomenon that peers compete to make more efforts to compete for limited resources, resulting in a decrease in the individual “benefit-effort ratio”. It can be regarded as “inflation” of effort.