1. Introduction

With the development of society and economic prosperity, the consumption concept of the young people born in 2000 has gradually changed. Compared with the young people born in the 1990s, the young people born after 2000 have a more obvious sense of independence, and their consumption concept is not limited to the pursuit of fashion and trends.[1] After 2000 young people are in the period of economic development in our country and the rapid development of the information age, and for most of the only children, parents and a suit, most of them comfortable life, material conditions and education conditions are relatively good, the information age makes their knowledge especially broad, attach importance to the expression of self consciousness want to stand out, the "conspicuous consumption" "wasteful" consumption "and" advanced consumption ", etc.[2] Understanding the main reasons that affect the consumption concept of the post-00s generation is crucial to developing effective marketing strategies and promoting economic development. This academic paper examines the dynamic nature of the social and economic landscape, as well as the evolution of culture and values, with the aim of providing a valuable resource for further research and practical applications.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Changes in the socio-economic environment in recent years

As the epidemic prevention and control smooth turn, economic and social full return to normal operation, from 2021 to 2023, China's per capita GDP growth continues to increase, from 81307 yuan / person to 89358 yuan / person, the national overall economic level and people's living standards, the consumer market vitality and potential of increasing, but also promote the optimization of economic structure and industrial upgrading. With the repair of offline scenes and the release of backlog demand, consumption has become the main driving force for the recovery. Although the overall recovery is good, the power is still insufficient. Under the low base, the growth rate was 7.2% in 2023 (-0.2% in 2022), higher than the average level of 2.8% in 2020-2022, and returning to the pre-epidemic level.[3] Among them, Internet consumption is the general trend of world economic development, and it plays a vital role in leading high-quality economic development.[4] The main audience in the Internet information age — after 00 young people naturally become the main object of the development of Internet consumption. The consumption under big data The consumption system generated for young people has been perfect. Various marketing means and popular e-commerce give young people an "invisible" purchase desire and increase purchase demand, thus promoting the continuous expansion of consumer demand and indirectly stimulating excessive consumption.[5]

2.2. Personal growth and educational background of young people

Growing up in the Internet era, the post-2000 youth have easier access to information, and the popularity of social media makes them more vulnerable to trends, advertising and peers. This can lead to excessive pursuit of fashion and popular brands and a tendency to overspend, which research suggests is simply to integrate into the group. When the target group of social interaction takes delicacy as the image label, having a delicate image becomes the access condition for individuals to integrate into the group.[4] In addition, young millennials generally receive a more comprehensive education, but the education system may also focus on academic knowledge and less on actual financial management. Lack of financial awareness and knowledge may cause some young people to have a vague understanding of the value of money, and they are more likely to fall into the dilemma of excessive consumption.

2.3. Change in culture and values

With the continuous changes in social culture, the values of the post-00s young people are also changing. They pay more attention to personalized expression and experiential consumption, and pursue uniqueness and diversity, so they are more interested in novel and personalized products. College students, as a unique subcultural group, possess several distinguishing qualities that set them apart from other demographic segments. Notably, their intellectual independence, critical thinking skills, and innovative spirit contribute to their active engagement in the pursuit of novel ideas and creative solutions Therefore, the consumption view of college students is different from that of their parents and elders. Some college students are keen to buy high-end clothing and cosmetics, and even pursue limited edition, signature money, use and constantly update high-end electronic products, so as to form a consumer distinction from other students to show their uniqueness and obtain the satisfaction of vanity.[6]

3. Method

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the excessive consumption of post-00s young people, we will adopt quantitative research methods to promote the correct establishment of the consumption concept of post-00s young people in major schools.

In this study, 300 post-00 college students are randomly selected and analyzed. The content includes the basic information of college students, monthly income and consumption amount, consumption items and consumption concepts.

3.1. Overconsumption is generalized

According to the analysis of the consumption level of 300 college students, the results show that the total monthly consumption of college students is 1 000-1 500 yuan, accounting for 45.45%; the total consumption is less than 1 000 yuan, 32.01%; the total consumption is 1 500-2 000 yuan 15.33%; the total consumption is over 2 000 yuan 7.21%. Among them, 52.14% of college students reported that their living expenses are not enough (the end of the month is not enough), which we called excessive consumption. Among them, two, three and junior colleges accounted for as high as 69.7%, and the excessive consumption of female college students was more common than male college students, accounting for 74.8%.

3.2. Weak sense of economic independence

The survey found that the consumption of college students mainly comes from family, accounting for 95.07%, dependent on parents, economically passive and without independence, 3.77% from their work and 1.16% from scholarships and grants.[7]

3.3. Diversified consumption items and weak consumption concept

According to the research data, most students spend 800-900 yuan on daily diet, 50-100 yuan for training, 100-200 yuan for beauty clothing, 100-200 yuan for entertainment dinners, and 20-50 yuan for Internet communication.80.01 percent of the students did not think they spent too much, and 62.4 percent complained about the lack of living expenses.[7]

Then, through the variance analysis, we found that the cost of living in the 1000-1500 yuan range of college students appears to be excessive consumption behavior accounted for the lowest, is 14.1%, the reason for the daily diet, study, beauty clothing, entertainment and network communication costs is enough, no extra cost for their excessive consumption, and the cost of living below 1000 yuan (34.5%) daily consumption, or living expenses of 2000 yuan (51.4%) family environment is superior college students.

In light of the potential impact of appropriate living expenses on mitigating excessive consumption habits, it is reasonable to suggest that providing reasonable financial support can play a crucial role in promoting the development of responsible spending behaviors among college students. This population is particularly susceptible to external influences, given their transitional status between adolescence and adulthood, as well as their exposure to a confluence of social and campus-based factors. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a collaborative and multi-faceted approach to consumer education that involves the concerted efforts of society, universities, families, and students themselves. By fostering such a "four-in-one" educational system, stakeholders can collectively contribute to the cultivation of healthy and rational consumption patterns among college students.[7]

4. Results

In this study, through a questionnaire survey of 300 post-00s college students, we deeply analyzed the factors affecting their excessive consumption phenomenon and the specific performance of their consumption behavior.

Consumption level and living expenses: The average monthly consumption of most surveyed students is concentrated between 1000-1500 yuan, accounting for 45.45%. However, more than half of the students (52.14%) reported a lack of living expenses, indicating that they had experienced financial stress caused by excessive consumption. This phenomenon was particularly obvious among female college students, where 74.8% said that excessive consumption was more common.

Source of consumption: According to the survey, most college students (95.07%) consume mainly from family support, which indicates their economic dependence. Only 3.77 percent of the students supported their consumption through work-study programs, while 1.16 percent used scholarships and grants as a source of funding for their consumption.

Consumption items: In terms of consumption items, students' expenses mainly focus on daily diet (800-900 yuan per month), beauty and clothing (100-200 yuan), entertainment and dinner (100-200 yuan) and network communication expenses (20-50 yuan). This reflects the diversified characteristics of students' consumption, but also exposes the excessive consumption tendency of some students for some non-basic needs.

Consumption concept: Despite the economic pressure, 80.01% of the students surveyed did not think they had the problem of excessive consumption. At the same time, 62.4% of the students complained about the lack of living expenses, which may point to their lack of understanding of their consumption behavior and their vague judgment of economic value.

These results reveal the complexity and diversity of the consumption behavior of post-00 college students, pointing out the problems in their consumption concept. Excessive consumption not only affects the students' financially, but also may affect their long-term values and attitudes towards life. Therefore, consumption education for the post-00s young people is critical, aiming to help them establish a healthy consumption concept and avoid the negative effects of excessive consumption.

5. Discussion

The results of this study reveal multiple factors influencing the excessive consumption of post-00s college students, from changes in the socioeconomic environment, personal growth and educational background to culture and values, which are intertwined to form a complex network of influences. Discussing these factors can not only help us understand the background of post-00s overconsumption, but also provide a basis for proposing effective interventions.

The weak consciousness of economic independence is an important reason for the excessive consumption of post-00s college students. Due to family financial support, most students do not experience financial stress, and thus lack a deep understanding of the value of money and the ability of financial management. This dependence leads to their lack of necessary self-control and rational judgment when facing consumption choices.

The popularity of the Internet and social media has greatly influenced the consumption concept and behavior of the post-2000s generation. This generation has lived in the environment of information explosion since childhood, and is vulnerable to the influence of web celebrity culture, advertising and marketing and other factors. The pursuit of fashion and trends has become an important motivation for their consumption decisions. This pursuit not only promotes the rise of personalized and experiential consumption, but also aggravates the phenomenon of excessive consumption.

The change of culture and values are also the factors that cannot be ignored. With the development of society, the post-00s generation pays more and more attention to personality expression and quality of life, and consumption is regarded as a way to express personality and pursue a better life. However, this shift can also sometimes lead to an excessive emphasis on material consumption, ignoring the consequences of consumption and the impact on the environment.

The excessive consumption of post-2000 college students is a social phenomenon affected by many factors, which requires the joint efforts of families, schools and society, and takes comprehensive measures to solve it from multiple dimensions. By improving consumption awareness, increasing financial education and cultivating correct values, the post-00s can be effectively guided to form a healthy and rational consumption behavior, laying a solid foundation for their future development.

6. Conclusion

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the consumption behavior of 300 post-00 college students, aiming to explore the leading causes affecting their excessive consumption. Through detailed data analysis and discussion, this study yielded several important conclusions.

The phenomenon of excessive consumption of post-2000 college students is the result of many factors, including the rapid change of social and economic environment, the characteristics of personal growth and educational background, as well as the change of culture and values. These factors are intertwined and jointly affect the consumption concept and behavior of the post-00s young people.

Although post-00s college students generally enjoy superior material conditions than previous generations, they show certain blindness and impulsiveness in their consumption behavior. This phenomenon not only reflects their deficiencies in economic independence consciousness and financial management ability, but also exposes the defects of the current social and educational system in cultivating young people's rational consumption concept.

Social media and online culture have a significant impact on the consumption behavior of post-00s college students. In this era of information explosion, young people are vulnerable to the temptation of all kinds of consumption information and trends, but lack enough judgment and self-control to resist these temptations, thus falling into the dilemma of excessive consumption.

Given the above conclusions, this study suggests that to effectively deal with the excessive consumption of post-00 college students, the joint efforts of family, school and society are needed.

Regarding family, parents should strengthen economic education for their children, cultivate their financial awareness and consumption judgment ability, and at the same time guide them to form good consumption habits through reasonable arrangements of living expenses.

In schools, educational institutions should incorporate financial management and rational consumption education into the curriculum system, and help students to establish correct consumption concepts and strengthen their self-control through various forms of teaching activities.

In the social aspect, the government and relevant institutions should strengthen the guidance and supervision of consumption culture, publicize the importance of rational consumption through the media and public platforms, and provide more social resources and activities that are beneficial to the growth and development of young people.

Through the joint efforts of families, schools and society, it can not only help the post-2000 college students to form a healthy and reasonable consumption concept, but also promote their all-round development and lay a solid foundation for their future success. In the context of a rapidly evolving society, the cultivation of a responsible, rational, and self-disciplined young generation assumes paramount importance. Equipping the youth with such qualities not only empowers them to navigate an increasingly complex world effectively but also ensures the sustainable and healthy progression of society as a whole.