In China, a culture of women making “temporary friends” with strangers online is spreading to reduce consumption.
The BBC reported on the 1st (local time) that the hashtag “存錢搭” is very popular in China.
Data analysis company NewsRank explained that since its first appearance on Xiaohongsu, the Chinese version of Instagram, in February last year, it has received 1.7 million views until recently.
On Weibo (微博, Chinese version X), Chinese netizens searched for topics related to thrift dazu millions of times.
“DaZi” is a new social interaction method popular among young Chinese people. It refers to relationships that are shallower than friends and deeper than colleagues, and is only a “temporary friend.”
For example, Dazu means a friend who only eats rice together. There are also travel Dazu, coffee Dazu, and toilet Dazu.
Among them, the popularity of economical data is interpreted to be related to the delayed economic recovery, such as the sluggish real estate economy and the high youth unemployment rate.
Women in their 20s and 40s usually gather in thrift darts online groups to share their budgets and expenditures. The thrift darts also prevent impulsive purchases from each other.
Lucy, a professor at the National University of Singapore, called this phenomenon “because of low confidence in the future economy.”
The problem is that the spread of a culture of thrift and saving could be a major obstacle to the Chinese government’s efforts to stimulate the economy. In general, central banks induce consumption by lowering their base interest rates, but if the Chinese are reluctant to spend and cling to their savings, the ability of central banks weakens accordingly.
China already has the world’s highest savings rate. As of the end of last year, Chinese household savings amounted to 138 trillion yuan, up 14% from the previous year.
It is good to help each other to save money. But can you trust someone with a stranger? It could lead to a crime. They can build trust and betray. Knowing about the other person in advance before you group together is also to prevent possible accidents.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
