Among the most - trusted forms of divination among young people, horoscopes and tarot cards can only rank second | Report on Young People's Superstitious Consumption in 2025

As Generation Z joins the trend of metaphysics, young people are even more "superstitious" than their parents, and they have their own unique ways of being "superstitious".

In our impression, the older generation still goes to temples to burn incense, buy talismans for good luck, and draw lots for divination every year. These metaphysical experiences have been transformed by young people into a kind of daily service that can be obtained at low cost. Temples have become daily check-in spots, and young people go to worship whenever they have time on weekends; drawing lots has been replaced by services such as horoscopes, tarot cards, and AI fortune-telling. When life is shrouded in uncertainty, young people can find comfort through various channels. As for talismans and mascots, they can be any lucky objects with auspicious meanings. Merchants have been seizing this market with fancy homophonic puns and metaphysical imagery.

Anyway, faith makes it real. You can say that this is a new type of IQ tax for capital to harvest money, but for buyers, it's just a way to relieve worries by spending money. As a respondent who bought a money tree ornament said, "I know this thing probably doesn't work in the metaphysical sense, but I'm just happy to buy it and put it at home."

Metaphysical consumption is also just a disguised form of spiritual healing service for many people. It can't change one's fate, but at least it can make people regain confidence in life and gain the courage to face reality in a short time.

(The intern also contributed to this article.)

This article is from the WeChat official account "Institute of the Rising Generation". Authors: Xu Jiajing, Qu Mei. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.