How Dopamine Culture Fuels Micro-Trends

If you've been on TikTok lately, you've definitely seen La Bubus. Those collectible plushies have replaced Dubai chocolate as the instant cultural reference for micro-trends. But here's the thing—La Bubus, $19 strawberries, $20 smoothies, and $300 Le Creuset pots aren't random phenomena. They're symptoms of something much bigger: what Igor calls the Aspiration Cascade.

Remember when the path was clear? Get the job, buy the house, buy the car, and signal your status through big purchases. But when 50% of Gen Z still depends on their parents for monthly support, and homeownership feels like a fantasy, what happens to our aspirations? They don't disappear—they compress.

In this episode, Igor introduces the Aspiration Cascade Framework—a systematic way to understand how blocked macro-aspirations (houses, cars, extended vacations) cascade down into midi-luxuries (fancy travel, designer subscriptions), then micro-luxuries (Aesop soap, fancy danishes), and finally nano-moments (TikTok scrolling, collectible dopamine hits).

The framework reveals why:

• You'll spend €300 on a French pot but can't imagine buying a house
• Morning coffee rituals involve €18 beans and precision scales
• People collect blind box toys and document the unboxing
• "Little treats culture" isn't frivolous—it's how we preserve aspiration under economic pressure

This isn't about judging consumer choices. It's about understanding the systematic forces—economic barriers, attention fragmentation, social sharing imperatives—that reshape how we dream, spend, and signal who we are.

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 Introduction: Little Treats Culture
• 03:29 Rich in Cash Flow, Poor in Assets
• 09:00 The Aspiration Cascades Framework
• 12:12 Why Aspirations Compress
• 18:31 How Brands Engineer the Cascade
• 23:54 Dopamine Culture's Role
• 29:47 The Four Levels Explained
• 36:53 Closing Thoughts

Links:

• “A Little Treat”: How Younger Generations are Changing Economic Norms
• The Rise of Dopamine Culture - by Ted Gioia
• Desire, Dopamine, and the Internet - by L. M. Sacasas

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You can also watch this episode on Youtube⁠

Follow the Rabbit feels like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation between two well-read friends at a Berlin coffee shop—smart without being pretentious, critical without being cynical, and deeply engaged with contemporary culture while maintaining historical perspective. The podcast occupies a unique space between trend forecasting, cultural criticism, and philosophical inquiry, delivered with warmth, humor, and genuine enthusiasm for understanding how the world works.

Follow the Rabbit is hosted by Igor Schwarzmann & Johannes Kleske

Find out more about ⁠⁠Igor Schwarzmann⁠⁠ 

Find out moire about ⁠⁠Johannes Kleske⁠⁠