We make dozens of purchasing decisions every day. We can add the items we liked to our cart with a single click. We order them, and they arrive at our doorstep within a week at the latest. So, do we buy things that suit our own personality and tastes, or is someone behind the scenes shaping our decisions?

Today I want to talk about consumerism and in this context, I will give one of the best example of it, the labubu which has nowadays became a really popular toy.

A girl I watched on TikTok said this about labubu in a video: “I might not need to buy a labubu, but if everyone else does, I will too. Because that's the way to belong in this day and age.” Will buying this product actually make you "belong"? I doubt it. Because one day, another trend will emerge to replace it, and this time, you'll need to buy that other product to feel like you belong to that community again. Furthermore, I think buying things just for 30-second videos, disregarding our own tastes and even without thinking, is incredible proof of how easily we can get manipulated.

Labubus sort of promote gambling

Many blind-bag toys like Labubu encourage gambling, especially in young children and even adults, because those who don't receive the color they want tend to keep buying the same toy until they do. In another video that I watched, a girl said she spent over $700 because she didn't receive the labubu she wanted (I'll leave a link in case you want to check it out:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LfYCeXYCMMA), and when she didn't receive the labubu she wanted again, she threw a tantrum. 

People lined up outside Popmart at 5 a.m. and waited nine hours to get their hands on the labubus. When sales were suspended, people ripped each other off by selling their old labubu for outrageous prices, up to $1,000. Accessories like shoes, hats, shirts, and sunglasses were also made for these Labubus. I mean does that make sense to you?

Not only Labubus

I've only used the labubu brand as an example so far, but the same situation can be seen with other brands like Stanley. My opinion on whether to buy these is this: I think there's no harm in buying something if it's truly based on one's own tastes and preferences. However, if social media and society's pressures are involved, and one feels pressured to buy something, she/he should avoid buying it.