银发经济视域下城市老年消费转型的社会学研究

A Sociological Study of Urban Elderly Consumption Transition in the Context of the Silver Economy

摘要: 近年来，中国城市老年群体中兴起了一股以自我满足和精神愉悦为导向的“悦己型”消费浪潮，这一现象与传统研究中将老年消费框定在生存型和家庭导向范畴的认知形成显著反差。本文基于消费社会学与生命历程理论的视角，结合最新的市场数据与政策，系统分析一二线城市中具备一定经济基础的老年群体“悦己型”消费的概念内涵、兴起条件与社会意义。研究发现，“悦己型”消费的兴起是经济发展、制度保障、家庭结构变迁、文化观念转型和技术赋能等多重社会条件共同作用的结果。这一消费转型不仅重构了老年人的主体性，推动了代际关系的民主化，也为银发经济发展和社会政策创新提供了重要启示。

Abstract: In recent years, a wave of “self-pleasing consumption”—oriented toward self-fulfillment and psychological well-being—has emerged among urban older adults in China. This phenomenon stands in marked contrast to conventional scholarly portrayals that frame elderly consumption primarily in terms of subsistence needs and family-oriented priorities. Drawing on the perspectives of the sociology of consumption and life course theory, and integrating the latest market data and policy developments, this study systematically examines the conceptual essence, enabling conditions, and broader social implications of self-pleasing consumption among economically secure older adults in first- and second-tier cities. The findings suggest that the rise of self-pleasing consumption results from the interplay of multiple social factors, including economic development, institutional safeguards, transformations in family structure, shifting cultural values, and technological enablement. Far beyond a change in spending patterns, this consumption transition reconstructs older adults’ sense of agency, fosters greater democratization in intergenerational relations, and offers important insights for the development of the silver economy as well as for innovation in social policies.