Meaning:

    “刷” here means to “swipe” as when you swipe a credit card to pay for something, and “存在感” means “existence” or “living in this world.” As the most common way to prove your importance or existence in this consumeristic society is to swipe your bank card and buy stuff, Chinese netizens have coined this term to mean “doing something to attract people’s attention and assert one’s significance in the world.” A person may feel unhappy if he or she doesn’t get enough attention in real life, and that person may resort to the Internet to invite people’s attention. Therefore, a common way to “刷存在感” online is to post pictures and stuff that occupy a large space or send posts repeatedly.

    Example:

    A: 这个退休女演员为什么要出书啊？

    Zhègè tuìxīu nǚyǎnyuán wèishénme yào chūshū a?

    Why is this retired actress publishing a book?

    B: 刷存在感。富人和穷人一样都要刷存在感，比如投资人约翰·斯卡利就经常和媒体讲苹果相关的故事来刷存在感。

    Shuā cúnzàigǎn。Fùrén hé qióngrén yīyàng dōuyào shuā cúnzàigǎn, bǐrú tóuzīrén yuēhàn sīkǎlì jìu jīngcháng hé méitǐ jiǎng píngguǒ xiāngguān de gùshì lái shuā cúnzàigǎn。

    Because she craves for attention. Rich or poor, all people need to get others’ attention. For instance, investor John Sculley would often tell the media Apple-related stories to get their attention.