Exploring the Formation Mechanism of Anti-Consumption Behavior of Youth Groups

: With consumerism sweeping the globe today, anti-consumption groups are also gradually rising, and young people, as the main force of consumption and an important participant in anti-consumption, have attracted much attention for their consumption behaviours and consumption psychology. Therefore, from the perspective of anti-consumption theory, this study will explore the behavioural characteristics of anti-consumption behaviours of Chinese youth groups, their motives and psychological motivations under anti-consumption behaviours. Through the combination of semi-structured interviews and participant observation, it can be found that the anti-consumption groups of Chinese youths emphasize on "rational consumption" in their anti-consumption behaviours, and have a strong personal and financial tendency. In terms of the reasons for their behaviours, the motivation is based on personal emotions and economic considerations, but the psychological motivation is for the purpose of enhancing consumer well-being. Therefore, the anti-consumption behaviour of the youth group is mainly formed under the combined effect of personal reality, spiritual needs and social environment, with the social environment being the precondition for anti-consumption behaviour, personal reality being the direct cause, and spiritual needs being the root cause, and anti-consumption behaviour will only arise if these three factors are present at the same time.


Introduction
As an important driving force of China's consumption growth, the consumption patterns and habits of youth will have an important impact on the economy and society.According to the Urban Culture and Development Forum 2022, the current size of China's Generation Z population is about 264 million, accounting for less than 20% of the total population, but the scale of consumption contributed has already accounted for 40%.According to various big data predictions, 73% of the Gen Z population will become newcomers in the workplace in the next 10 years, and the overall consumption scale of China's Gen Z will increase fourfold to 16 trillion by 2035, which can be said to be the core element of the entire consumer market in the future.With a large consumer group, high purchasing power and the uniqueness of consumption, the consumption style and concept of youth will lead the direction of China's economic and social development.
Contemporary youth groups are deeply influenced by the concept of consumerism, and the high-speed development of the network has made consumerism deeply embedded in the whole process of youth consumption, which has led to the emergence of the phenomenon of "symbolic consumption" highlighting the lack of consumption plans leading to blind overspending and other undesirable consumption status quo.The so-called "symbolic consumption" refers to the fact that "in the process of purchasing and consuming commodities, consumers not only pursue the use value of commodities in the physical sense, but also include the concepts and meanings attached to the commodities, which can provide consumers with prestige, express consumers' personality traits and social status, as well as their rights and so on, and which carry a certain degree of symbolism".Concepts and meanings".Young people are affected by psychological factors such as the pursuit of personalization, following the crowd, comparison, impulsive consumption and other external factors such as network marketing and brand effect, which may interfere with their normal judgment and lead to the emergence of over-consumption, irrational consumption and symbolic consumption behaviors.Because of this, many young people consume a lot of money, forming a bad consumption pattern, and in the long run may even fall into the predicament of not being able to make ends meet and using cards to support cards.
In recent years the anti-consumerism trend has risen and is supported and practiced by some young people.In the consumer frenzy sweeping the world, Western scholars have begun to conduct a more comprehensive examination of consumer behavior, and put forward a new research paradigm -"anti-consumerism" research.In reality, the day after Thanksgiving was initiated by Canadian artist Ted Dave and advocated by Canadian Adbusters magazine as "No Shopping Day".On this day, both the U.S. and Canada hold simultaneous consumer protest campaigns in which participants pledge to refuse to buy anything for 24 hours.Currently, the campaign has received solidarity from voluntary organizations in more than 60 countries around the world.In China, there are also some young people who maintain a prudent attitude and rational thinking under the impact of the wave of consumerism, and they resist the trap of consumerism by moderating their consumption behaviors, and they have set up a number of groups on Douban to achieve extreme simplification of their lives through the means of "pulling out grass" and "cutting off".They have set up several groups on Douban to realize the minimalism of their lives by "pulling weeds" and "cutting out".
To summarize, this paper will take the following four questions as the theme and vein of the research, and carry out in-depth discussions.
Q1: What are the behavioral characteristics of anti-consumption behavior?Q2: What is the behavioral motive of anti-consumption behavior?Q3: What are the psychological motivations of anti-consumption behavior?Q4: What is the formation mechanism of anti-consumption behavior?

Domestic Literature Review
At present, there is a big gap in the domestic research on anti-consumption phenomenon and anti-consumption behaviour, and the existing research mainly focuses on anti-consumptionist culture and the formation mechanism of anti-consumptionist groups.For example, Dong Tianze et al.
(2023) [1] analyse the cultural phenomenon and communication landscape of anti-consumptionist network communities from the perspective of cultural research; Du Lingjie et al. (2023) [2] start from the perspective of the sociology of consumption, and explore the identification process and the formation mechanism of contemporary youth "non-consumption" groups based on structured interviews; Tang Jun et al. (2022) [3] take the "Douban" consumer community as an example to explore the anti-consumptionists' view of consumption and its generation mechanism.
A few studies on anti-consumption theories are also at a relatively superficial level, such as Zhang Peng et al. (2022) [4], who explored the influence of five factors on anti-consumption behaviours, namely, gender, age, education level, occupational status and family size; Ma Jun (2016) [5] summarises the development process and theoretical paradigm of contemporary Western "anti-consumption" research, and discusses the future development direction of "anti-consumption" research and its enlightening effect on China's consumption problems.
To sum up, most of the qualitative research on anti-consumption theory in China focuses on anti-consumption community and anti-consumption culture, and there is very little research on anti-consumption behaviour itself, and a few quantitative research studies have a tendency to focus on the relationship between anti-consumption and environmental protection consciousness, and the research is not in-depth enough, making it difficult to carry on and deepen the research.

Review of Foreign Literature
Anti-consumption research is intended to explore the reasons for consumers' refusal to consume by analysing their behaviour and attitude of refusing to buy, which is of great significance for understanding the current consumption phenomenon and consumer psychology.As an emerging research field, it has not yet formed a complete theoretical system, but according to the current research results of ICAR [6], it is able to construct the general framework of anti-consumption theory to a certain extent.Zavestoski et al. (2002) [7] believe that "anti-consumption" is generally inseparable from resistance and aversion to consumption, while Penaloza and Price (2003) [8] tend to refer to "anti-consumption" behaviour as "anti-consumption".Penaloza and Price (2003) [9], on the other hand, prefer to understand "anti-consumption" behaviour as a resistance to the meaning of mass production in the market and to the culture of consumption; it expresses an attitude and an action of disapproval of the ideology of material growth as progress.

The concept of "anti-consumption" behaviour
"Anti-consumption" refers to the phenomenon of consumers voluntarily choosing to refuse to buy a certain brand or certain goods for a longer period of time, regardless of the objective economic constraints.[5] Therefore, anti-consumption behaviour is not the same as resistance to consumption, although both imply a refusal to consume, but "anti-consumption" will not give up boycotting activities just because the consumer's demands have been responded to for a certain period of time; at the same time, it is also not the same as some "pro-social" consumption methods, such as green consumption, sustainable consumption, and so on.At the same time, it is not the same as some "pro-social" consumption methods, such as green consumption, sustainable consumption, etc., which can only be regarded as a specific type of "anti-consumption" behaviour.

Classification of "anti-consumption" research objects
In existing studies, the objects of anti-consumption research are classified into general anti-consumption behaviours and specific anti-consumption behaviours according to the scope of consumers' refusal to buy goods or brands.In addition, the research object of "anti-consumption" is divided into general "anti-consumption" behaviour and specific "anti-consumption" behaviour according to the scope of consumers' refusal to buy goods or brands.In addition, the purpose of "anti-consumer" behaviour is divided into two categories: concern for social progress and concern for personal development, depending on the motivation that influences consumers to refuse to buy goods.As a result, anti-consumers are summarised into four main types: globally influenced consumers, minimalists, market activists and anti-loyalty consumers.[10] Firstly, the globally influenced consumer.This group believes that current consumption patterns are causing irreversible damage to the planet's ecosystems, and that overconsumption is exacerbating the gap between rich and poor between countries and classes.[11] As a result, this group advocates minimising consumption to avoid further ecological and social problems for the sake of social progress.
Second, the minimalists.This group believes that overconsumption is not only undesirable [12] but also unethical [13], and that consumers should reduce consumption to sustainable levels or choose to consume more ethical alternatives.In general, minimalists aspire to escape the current fast-paced, high-consumption society and call for a simpler life by purchasing only the necessities of life.
Thirdly, Market Activists.They refuse to consume because certain products or brands cause particular social problems.Not only that, they tend to use the power of consumers to influence social issues and actively use publications or media channels to promote their claims.[14] Fourth, anti-loyalty consumers.This group will decide not to purchase the brand's products due to previous unpleasant experiences or feelings about purchasing the brand's products.[15] At the same time, their own and other people's consumption preferences are also an important factor in determining individual consumers' refusal to buy certain products, and refusing to buy certain brands or types of products plays an important role in shaping the ideal image of individual consumers.

Classification of the causes of anti-consumption behaviour
In analysing the reasons for anti-consumption behaviour, the current literature mainly focuses on three dimensions: 1. shopping experience, i.e. consumers will refuse to buy a certain brand of goods or services when it fails to satisfy their expectations; 2. symbolic identity, this kind of consumers will refuse to buy products that are inconsistent with their self-identity as an important means to maintain their self-image.Values, some consumers express their values by refusing to consume, such as refusing to buy non-national products or boycotting environmentally harmful products or companies. [5]  Figure 1: Reasons for anti-consumer behaviour.

The relationship between "anti-consumption" and consumer well-being
Michael S. W. Lee in Anti-Consumption, Materialism, and Consumer Well-Being discusses the relationship between anti-consumption, materialism, and consumer well-being, conceptualising anti-consumption and materialism as opposites in order to differentiate and highlight the values of the two, and in doing so, proposes a new framework related to the following four aspects related to the new framework.[16] Firstly, materialist consumers lack control and autonomy in their consumption, in contrast to anti-consumption which involves a high degree of control and promotes self-determination and self-actualisation, leading to higher levels of consumer well-being.Second, materialistic individuals and anti-consumers differ in their scope of concern.Materialistic consumers focus on achieving personal goals at the micro level, such as owning expensive items, whereas anti-consumers tend to emphasise macro level goals, such as ethics and society, which contribute to higher levels of personal well-being.Thirdly, the authors consider the role of materialism, arguing that due to hedonic adaptations, materialism cannot realistically help humans achieve a lasting state of life satisfaction.Consequently, anti-consumption (especially in terms of voluntary simplification) reduces materialistic desires and personal relaxation, and exhaustion and stress are consequently reduced.Finally, materialists and anti-consumers have different sources of well-being, with materialists focusing on extrinsic goals such as reputation and wealth, whereas anti-consumers do the opposite, which is more directly related to sustainable fulfilment and happiness.Thus, anti-consumption is closely related to personal well-being.[17] To sum up, there is a lack of relevant research in China, and most of the foreign research on anti-consumption groups focuses on market activists and anti-loyalty consumers, meanwhile, due to the differences in social concepts and consumption habits, their research results are difficult to be directly applied to Chinese society, therefore, this paper will conduct an in-depth investigation on the behavioural characteristics of Chinese anti-consumption youth groups, and the reasons for the emergence of anti-consumption behaviours and their formation mechanisms.

Methodology
This paper adopts a qualitative research methodology and collects the information and data required for the study mainly through the semi-structured interview method.Compared with other research methods, semi-structured interviews are more in-depth and flexible, prompting interviewees to self-explore through the interaction between the two parties of the interview and use self-narratives to unearth deeper motivations behind their behaviour."In-depth interviews can reach into the hearts of the interviewees to feel their mental activities and emotional fluctuations, and to understand their deeper concepts by analysing the socio-cultural meanings implied by their words, behaviours, experiences and perceptions."[18] The purpose of adopting the semi-structured interview method is to understand the behavioural characteristics of anti-consumer youth groups in anti-consumption practices and to explore in depth the behavioural motives and psychological reasons that motivate individuals to adopt anti-consumption behaviours at the micro level, providing a source of qualitative results for the research questions.
In terms of the selection of research subjects, this paper issued a call for interview volunteers on multiple online platforms (e.g., Xiaohongshu, Douban, Weibo, etc.) at different times, and following the voluntary principle, 20 anti-consumers who met the research needs were recruited for interviews.In addition, participant observation was able to supplement the results and content of in-depth interviews to a certain extent during the research process.
Overall, this study adopted a combination of semi-structured interviews and participant observation to deepen the understanding of Chinese anti-consumer youth groups and improve the accuracy of the research data in order to refine the research design.

Analysis
Based on the texts of the in-depth interviews, this paper will collate and summarise them and group them into two themes: manifestations of anti-consumption behaviour and causes of anti-consumption behaviour.Anti-Spending Benefits

Sense of Control
"Feeling like I have more self-control and a much stronger sense of control over myself and my life" (S20)

Sense of Happiness
"It might be a bit hard in the moment when I didn't buy it, but I think about it afterwards and I'm happy overall" (S13) Sense of security "Saving money for a rainy day makes me feel secure" (S19) Sense of satisfaction "The money that I would have spent casually is now used to do things that can improve myself, and I feel more spiritually fulfilled" (S14)

Anti-Consumption Behavioural Manifestations
Based on the chain of derivation of "phenomenon -characteristic -cause", this paper first examines the general anti-consumption performance of the interviewees in terms of consumption concepts and comsumption behaviours.From the perspective of consumption concepts, the interviewees basically uphold the consumption concept of "rational consumption" or "buying according to needs", and on the basis of this, "cost-effectiveness" is extended, "personal preference" and "multiple comparisons".On the whole, compared with the findings of Western scholars on anti-consumer and anti-consumption behaviours in foreign countries, Chinese anti-consumers' tendency to inhibit consumption and anti-consumption desires are weaker, and their anti-consumption behaviours have a lower correlation with environmental awareness.In addition, in terms of anti-consumption behaviours, the interviewees specifically manifested themselves in the form of purchasing second-hand products or flat substitutes, seeking price concessions and reducing consumption opportunities.Despite the variety of anti-consumption behaviours and reasons, the ultimate goal is to "reduce expenses", which is somewhat different from the findings of relevant foreign anti-consumer studies.
Generally speaking, domestic youth anti-consumers focus more on "personal needs", in other words, respondents' anti-consumption behaviours are driven more by the idea of "I need to reduce my consumption" than by the suppression and curtailment of their personal needs, and thus their anti-consumption behaviours are mainly in the form of resisting excessive spending and reducing their personal needs.Therefore, their anti-consumption behaviours are mainly to resist over-consumption and spend less money as the ultimate goal, with strong practicality and financial management thinking.

Reasons for anti-consumption behaviour
The reasons for respondents' spontaneous anti-consumption behaviours can be generally attributed to "individuals' disapproval of and resistance to consumerism, thus changing their own lifestyles".Individually, most of the interviewees reported that the main reason for anti-consumption behaviour was that their financial situation was not favourable, or they were even in debt or poverty; a few interviewees also said that they chose to reduce consumption because they were plagued by the negative feelings of guilt and regret caused by over-consumption.This shows that individuals, after being negatively affected by consumerism, realise the limitations of consumption, i.e. consumption can hardly satisfy the needs of individuals at multiple levels, nor can it give consumers long-lasting happiness, and instead, it may lead individuals to slip into both economic and emotional difficulties in the midst of constant consumption stimulation.Therefore, from the perspective of the positive effects of anti-consumption, after discovering that consumption is difficult to satisfy their spiritual and emotional needs, individuals may choose to regain a sense of control and security over their lives, as well as a sense of spiritual well-being and fulfilment through moderation of consumption and reduction of materialistic desires, in order to realise higher-level purposes such as self-development and the pursuit of happiness.

Summary
Based mainly on the analytical results of the semi-structured interviews, this chapter has explored in depth both the behavioural characteristics of anti-consumption behaviour and the behavioural causes of anti-consumption behaviour, and has drawn the following conclusions: First, from the perspective of the behavioural characteristics of anti-consumption behaviour, the consumption concept of Chinese youth anti-consumption groups mainly revolves around "consumption according to needs", and in anti-consumption practice, although they emphasize on reducing expenses, they still hope to obtain goods or services they are satisfied with, that is, they pay more attention to the cost-effectiveness of consumption, rather than simply boycotting consumption.Compared with the anti-consumption phenomenon in Western countries, the Chinese anti-consumption phenomenon has weaker ethical and resistance colours, but has stronger financial management colours, which may be related to China's tradition of pragmatic view of money.
Secondly, from the viewpoint of the behavioural motivation of anti-consumption behaviours, most of the anti-consumption behaviours of Chinese youth anti-consumption groups originate from personal dilemmas, such as the embarrassment of their personal financial situation or the hurt of their personal emotions, so the need to adapt to, or improve, their personal situation directly prompts individuals to develop anti-consumption consciousness or practice anti-consumption behaviours.However, from a deeper perspective, individuals' choice to practice anti-consumption mainly stems from intrinsic multi-level needs.Firstly, in the interviews, some interviewees mentioned that "after reducing consumption, I can devote more time and money to things that can improve myself", which suggests that anti-consumption can, to a certain extent, help people to better develop their personal abilities and qualities.Moreover, in Marketing heretics: resistance is/is not futile, Ritson and Dobscha classify consumer resistance into "effective resistance" and "ineffective resistance".Ritson and Dobscha categorise consumer resistance as "effective resistance" and "ineffective resistance", the difference being mainly in the impact of individual attitudes on existing institutions.According to the analysis of the interview results in the previous section, Chinese youth anti-consumer groups are more inclined to "ineffective resistance" [19], i.e., their anti-consumption behaviours have a stronger tendency to be more private, have less impact on the existing mainstream consumer culture, and penetrate into their daily lives and behaviours.This means that "consumers express their concerns not according to universal and transcendental norms but rather referring to their self-concepts, individualities and everyday circumstances.Therefore, when anti-consumption becomes a way of life, what anti-consumption groups seek is no longer to overcome the prevailing trend of consumerism, but rather to reflect on the individual's inherent selfhood and spontaneously engage in creative expression, which essentially helps to explore the real needs of individuals and promote the development of individual identity.Thus, the common need for internal identity and external development motivates individuals to practice anti-consumption behaviour.
Secondly, as the consumer society becomes more and more intense and consumerism continues to deconstruct and oppress the individual, when the individual is held hostage by the wave of consumerism, what he or she possesses is only vain and transient pleasure, and the lack of authenticity will cause people to begin to spontaneously reduce their consumption and materialistic desires as a means of exploring the self.In symbolic consumption, the standardised products produced through industrialised assembly lines are often dehumanised "machine-made objects", and the symbolic value they contain cannot be fully compatible with the individual's "real self", resulting in the individual's need to obtain a sense of reality not being satisfied for a long time, and never being able to obtain a sense of realism through As a result, the individual's need to obtain a sense of reality cannot be satisfied for a long time, nor can it ever be satisfied through consumption, thus resulting in the lack of spiritual value of consumption.Some consumers who have awakened their self-will have begun to deviate from the consumerism-dominated lifestyle and look for a more effective way of presenting themselves, i.e., expressing themselves based on the relationship between people or the relationship between people and things, and improving the consistency between their external expression and their self.For example, interviewees would share their respective anti-consumption styles with their friends, or devote the extra time and energy from reduced consumption to their hobbies and spending time with friends and family, which would better satisfy the individual's need for a sense of authenticity.In the interviews, some interviewees also indicated that they buy second-hand books not only for financial considerations but also for personal preferences, and that "second-hand books build a bridge between the two parties in terms of ideological communication", which further strengthens the connection between the anti-consumer group and others.In addition, even in basic consumption behaviours, anti-consumers are able to select goods that are more in line with their personal attributes through the act of "comparison shopping", giving more self-expression to their consumption.Therefore, the pursuit of authenticity, or the satisfaction of personal spiritual and psychological needs, is one of the important reasons why anti-consumers practice anti-consumption lifestyle.
Overall, when consumers find it difficult to satisfy their intrinsic needs through the act of consumption, they will turn to anti-consumption consumption behaviours and lifestyles, exploring themselves, perfecting themselves and enhancing their personal well-being through simplification and moderation.

Research Conclusion
This paper adopts a qualitative research method and conducts semi-structured interviews through online recruitment of youth anti-consumption volunteers to provide a more comprehensive account of the anti-consumption behaviour of this group, and thus explores the characteristics of anti-consumption behaviour as well as the causes of anti-consumption behaviour.To a certain extent, this study bridges the gap in the field of anti-consumption behaviour in China and the lack of research on anti-consumption behaviour in China by Western academics.
In a nutshell, this study concludes that the anti-consumption behaviour of the Chinese youth anti-consumption group is essentially "rational consumption", on the basis of which they emphasize their personal needs and have strong financial management ideas.The causes of this group's anti-consumption behaviour are a combination of direct and deep-rooted reasons, with personal financial difficulties or emotional damage directly leading to a reduction in personal consumption.However, individuals who choose to practice anti-consumption behaviour over the long term are essentially motivated by the desire to improve their personal well-being, whether it is the need to improve themselves, to explore their true selves or to pursue a sense of "authenticity".Whether it is the need for self-improvement, the search for one's true self, or the pursuit of "authenticity", the core is to satisfy one's own spiritual pursuits and psychological needs, and therefore, it can be said that the main psychological motivation for anti-consumption is to further enhance the well-being of consumers.
In summary, this study concludes that the formation mechanism of anti-consumption behaviours in youth groups is affected by a combination of factors, which can be attributed to three main influences: firstly, the individual's reality, secondly, the individual's spiritual needs, and thirdly, the social environment, which together play a role in ultimately prompting consumers to practice anti-consumption behaviours.Specifically, the reality of the dilemma is the direct cause of the individual anti-consumption performance, and when they realise the limitations of consumption in the spiritual needs, consumers in order to meet their personal needs will maintain a long-term anti-consumption lifestyle, the social environment in the process will serve as a prerequisite for the emergence of anti-consumption awareness and incentives to continue to play a role in the individual and even the group.In other words, social environment is the premise of anti-consumption behaviour, personal reality is the direct cause of the dilemma, and spiritual needs are the root cause, and anti-consumption behaviour will be generated only if these three factors are present at the same time.

Research Limitations
In terms of research methodology and research design, this study inevitably has certain limitations, which are manifested in the fact that the selection of interview subjects in this study is based on the principle of convenience and voluntary participation, and the interviewees may have a certain degree of similarity in certain aspects, which leads to errors in the results of the study.Moreover, due to the limitations of online platform promotion, the number of volunteers solicited in this paper is small, which may be difficult to fully represent the youth anti-consumer group.Coupled with the fact that the interviewees may conceal their true situation to a certain extent during the interviews, it may not always be possible to obtain data that fully reflect what the interviewees think and feel.In addition, this study is only a preliminary exploration of the anti-consumption behaviour of Chinese youth anti-consumption groups, and more in-depth research is still needed in the future.

Table 1 :
Classification of counter-consumption research subjects.

Table 2 :
Interview results summarised