more than 90% of college students surveyed have consumption plans
2024-09-24
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
image courtesy of visual china
from looking at appearance to practicality, from pursuing complete equipment to purchasing on demand, huang rong, a student at fujian normal university, has become more rational in her consumption decisions during the start of the school year. when she first started her freshman year, huang rong purchased a series of new daily necessities and study supplies according to the "back-to-school essentials list" circulated on social media. but huang rong admitted that many of the items were not even unpacked, "there are four or five kinds of mirrors alone, and in fact, you don't need that many."
yang yuankai from capital normal university has just entered his first year of graduate school. "we have to go to different campuses for classes, but since the graduates of the previous year have all left the school, it is difficult for us to buy second-hand, cheap bicycles. a regular bicycle costs about 1,000 yuan, and an electric bike costs about 2,000 yuan. for me, it is a considerable expense."
recently, china youth daily and china youth school media conducted a questionnaire survey on consumption planning among college students nationwide, and collected a total of 8,172 valid questionnaires filled out by students from 126 universities. the survey results show that 34.5% of the college students surveyed have the habit of keeping accounts for a long time, 30.8% of the college students surveyed will budget and record large expenditures, 25.6% of the college students surveyed occasionally keep accounts and plan consumption, and only 9.1% of the college students surveyed said that they have never planned future consumption.
the college students interviewed are more concerned about quality, price and practicality when consuming
fu meirao from shandong university mainly spent money on daily necessities, storage tools and electronic products at the beginning of the school year. during the purchase process, she paid special attention to the cost-effectiveness and believed that the items purchased must be able to solve practical problems. when buying a computer for the new semester, she hesitated because of the high price. later, she went to various e-commerce platforms, paid attention to promotional activities in different regions, and grabbed a 2,000 yuan coupon, which also saved a lot of money for her parents. this made fu meirao realize once again the importance of shopping around and waiting for the right time.
compared with freshmen, zhao zihan from lanzhou university of finance and economics bought fewer daily necessities in the new semester, but spent more on cosmetics. "i will use up a lot of cosmetics during a vacation, and some of them will be left at home instead of brought to school."
when purchasing digital products, chen bianyao from zhejiang gongshang university gives priority to product brands. "identifying a reliable brand can reduce the time cost of comparison and after-sales quality is more guaranteed." when it comes to daily necessities, "extreme cost-effectiveness" has become his only pursuit. "it is enough to meet basic practicality and not pursue unique designs." yang yuankai said: "although some digital brands are expensive, we don't use many of their features and they cannot provide a user experience that matches the price."
for fan xiaoyang from three gorges university, in addition to electronic products, the most important thing to buy at the beginning of the school term is dolls that can provide emotional companionship. "for me, leaving the familiar environment to study in another city will inevitably cause some fluctuations in my heart. in order to ease the resistance to the unfamiliar environment, i will buy some dolls or ornaments and put them in the dormitory to bring spiritual comfort."
the survey shows that in addition to the necessary expenses for three meals a day, social expenses (40.4%), clothing and cosmetics (40.2%), personal skills training (28.8%), and watching movies and performances (27.0%) are all important consumption destinations for the college students interviewed. in consumer decisions, the quality of goods (63.1%), price (51.7%), and practicality (44.7%) are the main factors considered by the college students interviewed.
zhu di, a researcher at the institute of sociology of the chinese academy of social sciences and director of the consumption and cultural sociology research office, believes that this reflects that college students are gradually reducing their obsession with consumerist symbols and are more interested in cost-effectiveness. due to the increase in uncertainty in employment and income, college students are more economically rational in their consumption, but the underlying reason is that college students and young consumers are more rational and confident, which is also an inevitable stage when a consumer society develops to a certain extent.
"except for the laptop and mobile phone i bought when i first entered university, i have not bought any expensive electronic products since then." at the beginning of each school year, chen bianyao only updates some simple daily necessities, and more expenses go to travel consumption.
this summer, chen bianyao chose to travel by car with his friends along the "qinghai-gansu grand loop". all the expenses for this trip were saved by him through part-time photography, video editing and scholarships. "it was really great to go out and play with my own money for the first time. when we sat in the car, looking at the two rainbows after the rain outside the window, telling jokes and singing songs, this happy experience will be unforgettable for me."
“save where you can and spend where you can” the college students interviewed also pursue careful budgeting
even though the budget was sufficient, chen bianyao and his friends followed the principle of "saving as much as possible and doing big things with little money": they rested in one room, had simple snacks at noon, and tried special food at night, and insisted on not buying useless travel souvenirs. in total, the five people spent only more than 5,000 yuan in 7 days, which was 2,000 yuan less than the budget in the popular guides on social media.
every month when he gets his living expenses, zhao zihan will set a spending budget on the accounting software, and the software will automatically generate a daily spending quota. in this way, zhao zihan not only does not overspend, but also saves a sum of money. at the same time, zhao zihan and his friends have reached a tacit understanding, "for example, if i pay for books this month, which is about 400 yuan, then we won't go shopping this month, and even choose cheaper milk tea."
whenever there is a shopping festival, zhao zihan will spend more. she likes to buy some peripheral products of games. "although i know the production cost of peripheral products is very low, i still can't help buying them after seeing them." later, zhao zihan thought of a way, "when i want to buy something, i will wait for a few days to calm myself down, and i will gradually lose interest."
judy has been engaged in the research of youth consumption culture for a long time. she found that in recent years, young people obviously know what they want better. they want convenient, affordable, tasteful, individualistic, self-fulfilling, or a complex combination of these motivations, and are less likely to pay for symbols, face, or show off. according to the 2021 china comprehensive social survey (css), young consumers show their emphasis on and pursuit of cost-effectiveness. young people represented by those born in the 1990s and 2000s pay more attention to cost-effectiveness than those born in the 1970s. this consumption trend is more prominent among young men.
every month, yang yuankai deposits a certain amount of money into a bank card. "this card is for my living expenses. i will control myself and keep my spending within this range." yang yuankai believes that spending from one card can better manage living expenses. if there is a surplus in a certain month, yang yuankai will save the money to deal with emergencies.
the survey shows that 58.5% of the interviewed college students pay attention to paying bills regularly, 35.5% of the interviewed college students keep accounts and stipulate monthly expenses, and 27.0% of the interviewed college students save part of their living expenses for medium- and long-term consumption plans.
although he does not carefully record every expense, chen bianyao will review the expenses every once in a while and then adjust the subsequent living expenses. "i will also keep the income from my part-time job separately in case of emergency." chen bianyao rarely stays in the live broadcast room. even if he consumes, he buys "refundable if not used" group purchase coupons. "4 puffs for less than one dollar" and "3 cups of coffee for 48 dollars" are the traffic-driving discounts of merchants near the school. as long as he needs them, chen bianyao will place an order to stock up first and then consume them later. "if it is an impulse order, you can choose a refund later, and the money spent will be returned in the original way."
"what do i really need?" the college students interviewed clarified their needs through trial and error
"when i first entered university, i was faced with consumption choices and planning for the first time, and passionate consumption was the norm." at that time, the speakers that huang rong bought for the sake of product appearance became decorations; the hanfu costumes that she bought following the national trend were never worn out because she couldn't find a scene to wear them; the tablet computer that was originally planned to be used for studying ended up gathering dust on the desk.
in her sophomore year, huang rong's mentality changed. whether she needed a guitar and whether there were any comparable alternatives became questions she often considered when purchasing. huang rong made up her mind to learn guitar and watched video tutorials online before she started to choose. after comparing brands, prices, materials, etc., she chose a guitar that suited her.
in fan xiaoyang's view, many shopping behaviors are inseparable from the current state and emotional influence of oneself. in order to find a balance between rational consumption and love for clothes, fan xiaoyang reflected on her own purchasing behavior. now she will choose more daily and cost-effective clothes, and will choose products with freight insurance.
judy further explained that in a large number of media reports, market research and academic studies in the past decade, "self" and "self-satisfaction" have become key words to explain the consumption behavior of chinese consumers, especially young consumers who have significantly more independent judgment and rational choices.
"contemporary young people have a stronger voice compared to older generations or to the market and society. this cultural capital and the cultural confidence it generates enable young people to quickly shape their identity regardless of whether they are pursuing individuality or cost-effectiveness in consumption," said judy.
yang yuankai also made clear the priority of daily consumption during his exploration: study and life first, entertainment second. at the beginning of the school year, yang yuankai was very tempted by the electric toothbrush. but then he changed his mind and thought that it was not a necessity for his life, and he could wait until the shopping festival to buy it. gradually, huang rong also began to consciously plan his monthly expenses, 60% for daily consumption and three meals a day, and 40% for fitness, study and travel to improve himself.
the survey shows that 53.6% of the college students interviewed believe that categorizing items and setting budgets in advance can help maintain a balance between income and expenditure, and understanding their own needs and avoiding blind consumption (49.0%), paying attention to the long-term value and cost-effectiveness of items (41.0%), thinking rationally in the face of large-scale promotions (31.6%), and setting purchase priorities for items in the shopping cart (21.4%) are all experiences of rational consumption in the eyes of the college students interviewed.
huang rong believes that planning your expenses is actually planning your life. "when i was a freshman, i was still exploring new life and adapting to a new stage of life. when i was a sophomore, i was more self-reliant, started taking the cet-4 and cet-6, applying for a driver's license, and developing new habits and hobbies. when it comes to spending, i will no longer be as impulsive as before, and i will not pay just for a momentary liking."
after repeated regrets of "shopping sprees", fu meirao began to reflect on her own consumption behavior and proactively planned her expenses. "at first, i didn't develop the habit of keeping accounts every day, but i would proactively check my spending details when my living expenses increased quickly." as fu meirao properly controlled her own expenses, she also bought stable funds under the guidance of her parents and made a small profit. she hopes that the school can offer some universal elective courses on financial management to help her learn some basic financial management knowledge and avoid falling into unreliable financial management or online loan traps.
judy pointed out that colleges and universities, families, media, social organizations and other forces should actively guide college students to establish a healthy and moderate consumption concept, enhance their financial knowledge and financial literacy, and cultivate a positive and healthy lifestyle. "in daily teaching and student work, colleges and universities should reasonably guide college students' consumption desires, avoid excessive consumption, advocate rational consumption, and enhance college students' financial knowledge and financial literacy." judy added, "families also need to focus on conveying positive values to their children, and care about and actively respond to the ideological dynamics and mental health of college students at this 'quasi-social stage' of life."
china youth daily and china youth network reporter wang junli and bian xinyi, intern kong wenxuan source: china youth daily
source: china youth daily
