"Mom, Buy Me Gucci" Parents Struggling with Teens' 'Flex' Culture [Heo Midam's Youth Report]

5 out of 10 Teens Say "I've Bought Luxury Goods"
Luxury Shoes and Bags... New 'Backbreaker' Trend
Experts Say "Related to Teens' Desire to Show Off"

Luxury bag. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] [Editor's Note] How is your youth remembered? From teenagers to college students and office workers, we deliver the joys and sorrows unique to 'youth.'

# Kim, a 46-year-old mother of a first-year high school daughter, has been worried recently because her daughter keeps asking for luxury goods. Kim said, "My daughter has been repeatedly asking me to buy a 'Gucci' bag. She says all her friends have luxury bags, and she feels left behind without one." She added, "Our family is not financially well-off, so I'm worried about buying an expensive bag."

Recently, the 'Flex' phenomenon has been spreading among teenagers. 'Flex' means 'to show off by spending money' or 'overspending.' Some teenagers even pester their parents to buy luxury goods, causing concern among parents. Experts point out that teenagers' desire for self-display has created the Flex phenomenon.

One teenager confessed that the reason for their overspending is that they have no choice but to flex to keep up with friends. Regardless of their financial situation, they are pressured to overspend to maintain social relationships.

Kim, a 17-year-old second-year high school student, said, "At least 3 to 4 students in my class own luxury products." He added, "When I look at their SNS, there are many photos showing off luxury shoes or wallets." He lamented, "Kids who own luxury goods tend to form groups and hang out together."

Teenagers' perception of luxury consumption is relatively lenient. Some teens tell their parents to buy luxury goods, and others even work part-time to afford them.

According to a survey on 'Luxury Consumption Status' conducted last year by Smart School Uniform targeting 358 middle and high school students, 56.4% answered that they had purchased luxury goods, accounting for more than half.

The reasons for purchasing luxury goods were ▲having a strong interest in luxury brands (27.4%) ▲not wanting to feel excluded because friends have them (13.1%) ▲finding them pretty after seeing celebrities (YouTubers, entertainers) use them (13.1%) and so on.

When asked 'How do you mainly purchase luxury goods?' 39.1% responded that 'parents buy them.' Other answers included 'saving my allowance to buy them' and 'earning money through part-time jobs.'

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The problem lies in teenagers without economic means demanding expensive products from their parents.

Similar situations have occurred in the past. In the winter of 2011, some teenagers only wore padded jackets costing hundreds of thousands of won, causing distress for parents. At that time, a new term 'Backbone Breaker' was coined. 'Backbone Breaker' means 'an expensive product that breaks the parents' backbone.'

However, the Flex situation in 2020 is more severe. Instead of padded jackets costing tens of thousands of won, teenagers are pestering their parents to buy luxury shoes, bags, and more, costing up to millions of won.

As a result, parents are expressing financial difficulties. One netizen posted on an online community titled "My middle school daughter is asking for luxury shoes."

The poster, who said they are raising a second-year middle school daughter, said, "She usually asks for Nike or Adidas shoes, but suddenly showed me sneakers worth 500,000 won and asked me to buy them." They added, "I can afford to buy luxury goods once, but I said no because I was worried she would ask for more after that. Then my daughter cried and threw a tantrum, saying all the other kids wear them."

This Flex phenomenon continues online as well. On social networking services (SNS) like YouTube and Instagram, videos titled '18-year-old high schooler's luxury wallet introduction,' 'Teen's luxury unboxing,' and 'High schooler's luxury haul' are popular among teenagers. 'Haul' is derived from the English word 'haul,' meaning 'to bring in,' and refers to videos reviewing many items bought or collected at once.

From the parents' perspective, the Flex phenomenon is difficult to handle, yet it is consumed as popular video content among teenagers. In fact, Flex is spreading like a trend among teenagers both online and offline.

Opinions on these videos are divided. One netizen said, "These days, it's common to see teenagers wearing luxury goods. In the past, padded jackets were trendy, but now the trend seems to have shifted to luxury wallets," expressing general understanding.

However, another netizen responded negatively, saying, "Today's teenagers live in a competitive society. Falling behind means the end. In school life, luxury goods symbolize social status among kids, and unlike girls, boys think owning luxury goods means winning in competition."

Netizens generally express regret over the youth flex phenomenon. One netizen pointed out that this phenomenon is related to a 'competitive situation.' Photo by a screenshot of a comment section from a YouTube video.

There have been cases where teenagers' overspending led to crimes. In December last year, two high school students were caught by the police after stealing a padded jacket worth 1.68 million won from a luxury store in a department store in Gwangju. They were caught after posting photos on SNS showing off the stolen clothes as 'Flex.'

In another case last March, a group of high school students was arrested for withdrawing 40 million won from bank accounts using stolen smartphones. They squandered about 33 million won over a month, buying luxury watches and clothes worth millions of won.

Experts analyzed that 'conformity' and 'hero complex' among teenagers influenced the 'Flex culture.'

Professor Kwak Geumju of the Department of Psychology at Seoul National University said, "For teenagers, friends' judgments and opinions are more important than parents'. This psychology can be explained as 'conformity,' meaning a strong desire to follow what friends do." She added, "'Hero complex' also influenced teenagers' Flex culture. Teenagers want to show others that 'I am different from others.' This desire is related to 'the urge to show off.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.