Generation MZ playing sports to take pictures and to post it on social media

 

 

Ever heard of playing sports just to take pictures? That's what's happening now among generation MZs in Korea. "Playing golf is a good example. Golf used to be considered a sport for those in middle age. But now, people in their 20s and 30s are enthusiastic about it, because, they like to take pictures and post them on their social media accounts." "I like to wear nice golf clothes and take pictures with my family and friends when I go golfing." "Golf courses are well-organized, so they're good for taking pictures. I upload pictures to my social media to show people that I play golf." If you search for the hashtag "Golini " meaning golf beginner in Korean, there are thousands of posts from young people playing golf. A pro golfer and a coach who teaches at one of the indoor centers says he sees a wide range of age groups these days. "Even my friends who are in their 20s to 30s ask me to go out and play golf with them. I think after the outbreak of COVID-19 more young people are considering taking up golf as a hobby." According to statistics released by Korea Leisure Industry Institute, a total of 5.1 million people played golf in 2021. Among them, the number of people in their 20s and 30s stood at over 1.1 million. That's a 35-percent increase from a year earlier. That's why golf wear companies are now targeting young people with their designs and are getting K-pop stars to model for them. But it's not just golf that's gaining popularity. Tennis, is also loved by young people as is the apparel. "I buy tennis outfits every time I have a game. Style is always important to me." "Because people in their 20s and 30s are buying more tennis clothing, more brands are starting to sell tennis clothes, too." A consumer trend expert says this phenomenon is due to young people's needs for "healthy pleasure." ""Healthy pleasure" means that people prefer to have a sense of pleasure while pursuing a healthy life. So, to generation MZs, playing sports means more than just enjoying it. They want to feel connected as they play sports." She added that as social media is a tool for young people to connect with others, sports with fancy apparel and equipment like golf and tennis allow them to stay active online and offline.


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Vocabulary:
1. Enthusiastic - having or showing intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval 
2. Statistics - the practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample 
3. Apparel - clothing 

 

Questions:
1. Talk about the recent trend sweeping the MZ generation.  
2. Why are young people enthusiastic about golf? 
3. Explain what "healthy pleasure" is. 
4. Share your thoughts on the importance of healthy pleasure. 
5. What social media trend have you followed/done and why?