Teenagers' obsession with "Ditto consumption" is a wake-up call for Korean society
2024-08-06
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Yao ZeyuRecently, a trend called "Ditto consumption" has been sweeping the youth group in South Korea. The word "Ditto" comes from Latin, which means "same as above" and "me too". It is extended to copy and imitate. "Ditto consumption" is a synonym for the social phenomenon that young people imitate Internet celebrities or idols to consume. Faced with this trend, adults with higher incomes and mature minds can still resist it, but Korean teenagers are becoming more and more deeply trapped in the blind pursuit of "Ditto consumption", especially luxury goods, which brings a heavy burden to their families.South Korea is one of the countries in the world that loves luxury goods the most. According to a report released by Morgan Stanley, in 2022, South Korea's total expenditure on personal luxury goods reached 16.8 billion US dollars, accounting for about 1% of South Korea's GDP; the per capita luxury consumption was 325 US dollars, ranking first in the world. In terms of age, the "MZ generation" (a generation born in South Korea from the 1980s to the early 21st century) is currently the main force of luxury consumption in South Korea. The proportion of the 20 to 30-year-old group has increased from 38.2% in 2018 to 44.9% in 2022. More and more young Koreans have become fans of luxury goods, and the age group is still sinking. It is becoming more and more common for students to work part-time and save money to buy luxury goods.Why do Koreans have such a great demand for luxury goods? Why do Korean teenagers have a special liking for luxury goods? First of all, this phenomenon is rooted in Korea's material culture. Compared with most people in other countries, Koreans pay more attention to their appearance and approve of showing off their wealth. The more a product can show off its appearance and financial strength, the more it can resonate with Korean consumers. This not only affects Korea's luxury consumption culture, but is also one of the reasons for the development of Korea's plastic surgery industry. In addition, Korean school bullying is frequent. For some teenagers, luxury goods are in a sense a "protective shield" from bullying and exclusion.Secondly, luxury brands often accurately grasp the curiosity, blind obedience, and comparison psychology of young people, and use Korean artists and Internet celebrities to expand the publicity effect and stimulate irrational consumption among young groups. French postmodern theorist Jean Baudrillard once said that contemporary capitalist society relies on "symbols" to distinguish classes, and the entire society is a dynamic structure organized by differential "symbols"; in a consumer society, people consume not the use value of things but the symbolic value. On the one hand, Korean teenagers are eager to imitate the consumption methods of idols, and the psychological need to buy luxury goods to enhance their sense of belonging and self-identity is the key factor for "Ditto consumption" to penetrate into the younger groups in Korea; on the other hand, once artists and Internet celebrities themselves lose the blessing of luxury goods, they may also "fall from the altar" and lose the traffic given by capital. In a sense, Internet celebrities and teenagers are both "victims" kidnapped by luxury goods or capital.However, the satisfaction of material desires has not brought spiritual wealth to Koreans. According to Ipsos' "2023 Global Happiness Survey Report", only 57% of Koreans consider themselves "very happy" or "quite happy", ranking 31st among the 32 surveyed countries.Kim Yun-tae, a professor at Korea University, once commented in his book that South Korea is "a country that has achieved remarkable material achievements through rapid growth, but is facing serious spiritual misfortune." This sentence also pierces the essence behind the booming Korean luxury market. The obsession with luxury goods or "Ditto consumption" is not an occasional phenomenon, but a comprehensive problem brought about by social development. This problem will further encourage bullying, showing off wealth and other phenomena, forming a vicious circle. How to solve this problem and fundamentally prevent it from continuing to deteriorate is a test for Korean society.In response, various sectors in South Korea have begun to take some actions. The South Korean government and some educational institutions are increasing their investment in shaping young people's consumption concepts and cultivating critical thinking. Social platforms are also improving content review and recommendation algorithms to reduce the negative impact of social media on young people.This phenomenon in South Korea also has a role to play as a mirror for other countries. As social media and artificial intelligence have a deeper impact on people's lives, especially on young people whose ideas have not yet been formed, it is very important to cultivate young people to use the Internet and use it well while keeping a good eye on the content and influence of the Internet and maintaining a balance between "use and prevention". A healthy society must be a society that pursues common prosperity in material and spiritual life.In this regard, many young Chinese people have both pragmatic consumption concepts and aesthetic pursuits that take into account individuality, characteristics and artistic value. It takes ten years to grow a tree, and a hundred years to cultivate a person. In the future, adhering to guiding Chinese youth to establish a correct consumption concept and helping them consciously resist irrational advance consumption and excessive consumption will still be a topic that contemporary Chinese education circles need to pay great attention to. (The author is a scholar at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, China Institute of International Studies)▲
