Communication of Symbolic Meaning in Bag-Charms Trend as an Interaction Mode among Gen Z

Abstract

This study investigates the bag-charms trend among Gen Z as an interactive, culturally mediated communication process. By synthesizing George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer’s framework of Symbolic Interactionism with Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), this paper examines how micro-accessories function as active non-verbal signs and fluid tools for identity construction. Utilizing a qualitative interpretive approach with Reflective Thematic Analysis (RTA), findings reveal that individual identity practices are systematically shaped by external digital environments—such as TikTok OOTD narratives—and commercial market agendas. Although wearers experience charm curation as personal freedom and authentic self-expression, they unconsciously reproduce a commercially driven maximalist aesthetic. This dynamic exposes a profound consumerism paradox: Gen Z, widely associated with eco-consciousness and anti-capitalism, frequently engages in compulsive micro-waste and emotional consumption driven by trend burnout. Ultimately, bag-charms transcend simple functional aesthetics, operating as a primary medium for performative self-narration within postmodern consumer culture.