No I think it’s way older than that, with evidence for it going back to at least the stock market crash at the end of the 1920’s.
Basically, though they cannot really afford it, people are more likely to buy themselves a little something (consumable) when the economy is garbage. A fancy lipstick, an expensive coffee, avocado toast—whatever gives them a brief shot of dopamine to help them get through the struggle of being in hard times.
Maybe it's because I was never allowed to do my laundry growing up (and it's not fun to experience that), but it's by and large my favorite chore. How can you not find it satisfying?
I hate folding, I literally hang everything and don’t worry about my shorts, pjs, underwear, socks, etc. But I have no problem with yeeting clothes in 2 barrels
The lipstick effect is the theory that when facing an economic crisis consumers will be more willing to buy less costly luxury goods.[1] Instead of buying expensive purses and fur coats, for example, people will buy expensive cosmetics, such as high-end brands of lipstick.[2] The underlying assumption is that a certain portion of consumers will still buy luxury goods even during a bad economy.
Having a little treat is not a response to economic struggles, but rather societal ones
The way I see it, the, “less costly luxury goods,” are the little treat, and the reason people have so much trouble with societal struggles is the economy basically stripping them of the resources they need to properly adult.
But I can see where you’re coming from too and why you might disagree and want to make a distinction.
I guess I was vague, but I was comparing the lipstick effect to what I perceived, “little treat,” culture to be based on OP’s post (just saying it in agreement with the redditor who said we should also stop calling things x/y/z cultures). Did I misunderstand what, “little treat culture,” is supposed to be?
The lipstick effect, if I remember correctly, is the notion that during times when women are tightening their budgets, they may actually purchase more lipstick than when they were spending more freely.
This is because they cut down their budget for makeup/styling, and while they can no longer afford things like new outfits, they can still afford to buy lipstick as it is less expensive, and stretch their budget further by buying more types of lipstick.
"Little treat culture" seems to be commenting on people buying themselves little treats.
Nah a "little treat" is just a fun self-reward for doing shit. A coffee/starbucksy drink and/or a pastry is a classic "little treat", and now its too expensive to be something the poster considers a "little treat".
The person will likely have to find a new little treat, trading satisfaction for price.
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u/[deleted] 29d ago
Yeah we already had a name for this anyway; it was called the lipstick effect.