The rules of survival in a low-desire society.
In the first two years, the concept of consumerism became popular in society, and people pursued ephemeral pleasures, focusing on a sense of ritual and instant gratification. However, society has changed dramatically this year. From the breakaway during the Spring Festival, young people no longer visit relatives and friends, and do not pay New Year's greetings, to now young people do not dress up and wear rustic clothes to work. For a while, the social ** was full of ridiculous comments, and some people said: "With a salary of only a few thousand yuan a month, it is not worth buying cosmetics." Someone else joked: "Wear ugly clothes to work." Behind these seemingly joke remarks, there is a huge transformation that is quietly taking place in our entire society.
What is this societal change? To use a popular concept in Japan, it is a "low-desire society". We are gradually entering such a society. Low-desire societies are typically characterized by slowing or even stagnant economic development, fewer job opportunities, lower salaries, and few opportunities for career advancement. Even if there are employment opportunities and opportunities for advancement, there is not much difference in the remuneration received. In such an economic environment, some people are forced to "stay at home", and some people are still trying, but the effort is not enough to reap the rewards, so they choose to be content with the status quo and embrace a minimalist lifestyle.
Currently, we can see some phenomena that may be a precursor to the arrival of a low-desire society. For example, young people are reluctant to socialize, do not want to participate in useless or uninteresting social activities, they feel tired from socializing, and it is more comfortable to lie at home; Another example is that you don't want to dress up at work, feel that dressing up is not worth it, there is no reward, and sometimes you will even be ridiculed by people who cater to social rules; There is also a reluctance to get married, they feel that instead of finding someone to make themselves unhappy, it is better to live alone, less compromise, less quarrels; There are also those who are unwilling to listen to the nagging of others, do not like the teachings of teachers, superiors, and elders, they just want to be themselves, they are not willing to fight with others, and only pursue their own happiness; There are also those who are reluctant to visit high-end shopping malls and buy famous brands, prefer to go to vegetable markets and supermarkets, pursue pragmatism, and so on.
To sum up, there are several typical characteristics of low-desire society: there is less social interaction, or the social circle becomes smaller, and most of the time it is only willing to taste with others; Pursue pragmatism in consumption and tend to a simple lifestyle; Unwilling to be influenced by the surrounding environment or others, and not to increase mental pressure on oneself; The desire for money, position, power, recognition, and even marriage is diminishing; Pursue low consumption, unwilling to move more, willing to try to maintain a stable state, go out less, consume less.
So, how did a low-desire society come about? The core reason remains the impact of economic development. Take Japan as an example, in the nineties of the last century, Japan entered a low-desire society. The reason is that after 20 years of Japan's economic development, the economy has fallen into stagnation and recession, the market has lost opportunities for success, lost employment opportunities and promotion opportunities, and young people have struggled to make ends meet and have to rely on the support of their parents. The elderly have accumulated some wealth in the past two decades, but they have also borne a heavy burden and are afraid to consume, and the whole society has entered a state of low consumption and low desire. After 40 years of rapid development, China is currently facing the dilemma of poor economic situation. The market is weak, the job outlook is not optimistic, and the salary package is not high. Young people lack confidence in the future and do not have high expectations for hard work. In many cases, the situation forces young people to choose a lifestyle that is low in socialization, low consumption, low internal friction, low desire and low consumption.
The effects of a low-desire society are also beginning to be felt. The most direct impact is that the pressure of family survival and development is passed on to the parents, who have to work hard for their children who do not want to get married, and even if they are married, they have to struggle for their own retirement life.