01
There is an Internet buzzword, licking dog economy.
It refers to those behaviors that are done at any cost in order to please someone, usually in the form of excessive consumption by men in order to please women.
To put it bluntly, it is a licking dog in love, overspending for the sake of the male god/goddess in your heart. For example, in order to win the favor of a certain opposite sex, invest tens of thousands of yuan, or even more, to buy gifts.
This kind of "licking dog economy" was particularly strong before 2020, when it was easier to make money. Every year's Qixi Festival and Valentine's Day are the times when merchants make a lot of money.
And after 2020, there are waves of layoffs, salary cuts, and licking dogs can't make money. At this time, the "dog licking economy" gradually collapsed, and there was no market for the "dog licking personality".
Just look at the Internet. On the Internet, whenever there is any case of "licking a dog", people will leave a message "Lick the dog damn". This dooms the "licking dog economy" to be unsustainable.
02
Looking at a few sets of data, it becomes clear.
Tmall data shows that during the "Double 11" period in 2023, road bikes, e-sports products and jackets have become the "new three treasures" of male consumption, with online sales increasing by 305%, 114% and 90% respectively
Men are beginning to move towards self-satisfied consumption.
In 2022, there will be 7 brands with pre-sales of Tmall "618" makeup exceeding 10 million on the first day, but in 2023, the number of brands will "shrink" to 4, and the pre-sales of beauty and skin care will decrease by 59.9% year-on-year, and the pre-sales of makeup and perfume will decrease by 44.3% year-on-year
Men are less and less willing to consume for women.
According to Chow Tai Fook's 2023 consumer survey, 47% of Chinese consumers buy diamond jewellery for the purpose of self-reward.
The consumption of diamonds has gradually shifted from the need to get married to the need for self-reward.
As of October 7, 2024, Black Myth: Wukong has sold 21 million copies on Steam, 80% of which are from China.
Young men at this stage would rather spend for games than for women.
03
Combined with today's single atmosphere, as well as the declining marriage and childbearing rate year by year, we can find that most young people, especially men, don't seem to want to pay for marriage anymore.
You ask a young person born in the 90s/00s, do you still care about inheritance? They will answer you that it is a feudal tradition to pass on the lineage, and you don't have a throne to inherit yourself, and you don't care at all.
You ask a young man, why is he reluctant to have a girlfriend? They will answer you that life is so stressful that a fool will be a licking dog of love. It's better to make your own money and spend it yourself.
You ask a young man who is not married and has no children, why does he not want to enter into marriage? They will answer you that it is better to live comfortably alone than to find an ancestor to go home.
......
When a group of people are arguing over the "sky-high bride price", many young men in the city have chosen not to marry or have children and live alone.
When a group of people are worried about "where to buy a school district house", many young men in the city have chosen not to have offspring, nor to take on mortgages, and live a relaxed life.
When a group of people are anxious about "how to deal with the relationship between husband and wife", many young men in the city have taken the initiative to abandon marriage and insist on the idea of living for themselves.
04
The Qixi Festival in 2024 is known as the "most deserted" Qixi Festival. Even the media from all walks of life lamented that young people are unwilling to pay the "love IQ tax".
It can be seen that the dog-licking economy has come to an end. With the intensification of contradictions between men and women, sky-high marriages, and love tragedies, young single men will only be more reluctant to find a wife.
The shift in the perception of young men has revealed these truths.
Truth 1: No longer bound by the concept of inheritance.
Nowadays, when it comes to inheritance, many people don't care. In their opinion, there is no throne to inherit in the family, and it is better not to marry and have children than to suffer themselves and their children.
Truth 2: Young people don't believe in love anymore.
In the past, there was still a certain amount of true feelings. Today's love is a proper material transaction. Since you can't afford to trade and don't have true feelings, then choose to give up and get out of the sea of suffering.
Truth 3: The contradiction between men and women has exacerbated young people's disgust for marriage.
Nowadays on the Internet, people are arguing about the issue of men and women. Men accuse women, and women accuse men, to the point where the contradictions are acute and irrelievable. In this way, what other feelings can people have than disgust?
Truth 4: The pressure of life has completely changed people's feelings.
Young people are at risk of losing their jobs, losing their incomes, and they can't afford to buy a house or a sky-high marriage. Since you can't afford to buy a house, don't buy it. Since you can't afford to get married, then don't. The pressure, which is beyond the scope of ordinary people, has completely changed people's perceptions.
05
Write to the end
In the future, the dog-licking economy will only get worse and worse, and it will no longer work for businesses to make money through love bundling, marriage bundling, etc.
Even the fact that blind date institutions are going out of business shows this exactly.
Is there a way to solve the conflict between marriage and childbirth at this stage? It's a shame to say that there's no way around it. The collapse of marital credit and the aggravation of contradictions between men and women cannot be relieved without two or three generations.
Whether you and I accept the reality mentioned above or not, we will witness history with our own eyes. The undercurrents in the hidden depths are surging, intensifying.
Text/Shushan has deer