Recession-core in figurine form

[rynling]

Your Labubu Might Be the Most Honest Indicator of a Global Recession
https://www.milleworld.com/labubu-economic-recession-indicator/

All of this points to the same underlying truth: people are adapting to scarcity by aestheticizing it. When people can’t afford abundance, they turn to objects that feel meaningful, compact, and emotionally loaded. That’s where Labubu enters the chat — not as a toy, but as a talisman.

For real though. I think it's telling that it's not actual teen girls who are into these toys, but grown Millennials who are pushing 40 and still can't afford to buy a house. So on one hand, these stupid little things aren't that deep; but also,

As philosopher Byung-Chul Han notes in The Burnout Society, modern individuals are no longer disciplined by external forces. Instead, they’re coerced internally by a need to perform, optimize, and consume under their own volition. In this framework, buying a Labubu isn’t a childish indulgence, but a full-on coping mechanism as a small act of self-soothing in a system that’s rigged for extraction.

Comments

[raisedbymoogles]

....huh. I don't have any interest in Labubu, but I have a knockoff Kuromi keychain on my bag that I guess serves the same purpose? I never thought about it that deeply.

[rynling]

Honestly I think the Labubu designs are kind of neat, but Kuromi is by far the superior creature.

If I understand correctly, what's going on with the Labubu keychains is that they're almost impossible to acquire. Official brand retailers are completely sold out and only accept online orders for in-store pick-up, and you have to order from the Pop Mart app or website. Since you have to compete with bots and scalpers on platforms that weren't built for high-volume traffic, even getting an opportunity to place an order is a crapshoot.

What people on Reddit have taken to doing is creating spreadsheets of potential URLS that, if visited at the exact right time, might give you a chance to place an order before a batch officially becomes available. In other words, getting one of these stupid things can take hours (if not days) of research and browser refreshing. I guess it's like farming for a rare item drop, but in real life. 🫠

[raisedbymoogles]

man, I will not say I'm immune to the siren call of Stuff, but that all sounds like more effort than I'm willing to go to. laziness wins again. XD

[runicmagitek]

And this whole time I thought Labubu was some recent internet meme involving blorbos or whatever. Welp. The more you know!!

I do feel like these trends come and go in waves. I remember things like the Beanie Babies craze along with Tamagotchis way back in the day. Reading up on all of this makes me feel a little less unhinged with my fannish merch collection, but damn... this is way more effort than I'd ever put into getting A Thing.

Thank you for sharing this, for now I know what a Labubu is 🤣 if I wasn't on my phone, please know I'd reverse uno you with the Tenna screenshot here but edit it to say "does anyone know what a Labubu is??" bc wow yeah if it ain't me lolsob

[rynling]

Me, learning Japanese to order FFVI merch 🤝 You, learning Japanese to order 13 Sentinels merch 🤝 TikTok girlies learning to use reddit to order Labubus

Half-baked cultural theory aside, the heart wants what it wants.

You should absolutely make that edit. Post it on social media and I will instantly reblog it and then make some popcorn to munch on while watching the numbers go up.

[runicmagitek]

Best use of my lunch break 🍿🍿

I spent WAY too long getting this text to look as legit as possible. (did you know there is a smidge of a #0e0b64 drop shadow on the white text? NOW YOU DO!!) I'm so glad my BFA is going to EXCELLENT use.