We are not consuming; we are 'pain-relieving.' Let me start with a possibly harsh statement: Most modern consumption behavior is essentially not about meeting needs but about alleviating some pain that is hard to face directly. You think you are buying coffee, courses, lipstick, or financial products. But if you zoom out, you will find that you are using these things to complete tasks that were never meant for them:

Using work to complete the task of "I deserve to be loved"

Using shopping to complete the task of "I didn't live too badly today"

Using short videos to complete the task of "I don't want to face nothingness for now" This is the starting point of "compensatory economics": Compensation = tasks that belong to one dimension are shifted to another dimension for execution. Compensatory economy = the entire business world operates around these mismatched tasks. From this perspective, modern people "are using the wrong tools to complete tasks," which is not an individual problem but a structural problem of the times. The Eight-Dimensional Spider Web: A "Structural Map" of Human Problems To understand compensation, we first need a "map of human problems." We can use an "8D Spider Web Model" to describe a person's problem structure:

  1. Physical/Survival Dimension: health, energy, sleep, basic safety
  2. Resource/Financial Dimension: income, cash flow, debt, financial security
  3. Relationship Dimension: intimate relationships, friendships, family, social belonging
  4. Capability Dimension: professional skills, learning ability, execution, sense of control
  5. Emotional Dimension: anxiety, anger, sadness, joy, peace baseline
  6. Narrative Dimension: life goals, sense of direction, story sense "where am I going"
  7. Identity Dimension: who I am, who I am not, who I want to become
  8. Existential/Meta Dimension: awareness of finitude, freedom and responsibility, meaning and nothingness, self-awareness Imagine an octagonal radar chart: From the center (0 points) to the edge (10 points). The higher the score, the better? No, the higher the score, the stronger the conflict and the less self-consistent this dimension is. Connecting the eight points gives an irregular polygon—this is the "problem fingerprint" of a certain stage. Some people's problems are concentrated in the "base" (survival + finance + capability); Some are concentrated in the "upper zone" (identity + narrative + existence); Others have cracks all over the web. Compensation happens on this web: When a dimension cannot be solved long-term, energy is "transferred" to another dimension to hold it up. What Exactly Is Compensation Doing? —Task Mismatch From the perspective of "Jobs To Be Done" (JTBD), people complete various tasks every day: Functional tasks:

I need to eat enough

I need to commute

I need to deliver projects on time Emotional tasks: I need to be less anxious

I need to feel valuable

I need to like today's self a little Identity tasks: I need to prove "I am not a failure"

I need to be a good parent, leader, creator Existential tasks: I need to believe "this is not all in vain"

I need to feel my life is part of something bigger than me Where Does Compensation Appear? When core tasks in a dimension cannot be completed long-term, people secretly migrate tasks to another dimension, leading to typical mismatches:

  1. Relationship tasks → Resource execution Original task: I want to be loved, cared for Actual means: working hard to earn money, giving gifts, flaunting material possessions Logic: "I am not worthy of love, but I can become useful, rich, valuable."
  2. Identity tasks → Capability execution Original task: Who am I, what kind of life should I live Actual means: getting certificates, padding resumes, doing projects, taking various courses Logic: "First make myself strong, then I will naturally know who I am."
  3. Existential tasks → Emotional execution Original task: What is the meaning of life, what is the direction of effort Actual means: scrolling short videos, impulse buying, gaming, drinking, late-night entertainment Logic: "Since I can't figure it out anyway, at least let me feel a bit better right now." The result of task mismatch is: On the surface, it looks like "functional behavior" (working, studying, shopping, entertainment), but in essence, it is executing emotional, identity, and existential tasks. The tools are not wrong, but— The tools were never meant to bear such heavy tasks; over time, they will inevitably collapse. Three Typical Compensation Scenarios: Modern Daily Life
  4. Work Addiction: Using KPIs to Prove "I Deserve to Exist" Surface task: complete projects, strive for promotion, maintain income levels. Deep task: prove self-worth through "usefulness" (relationship compensation, identity compensation), avoid stopping to face inner emptiness (existential compensation). Symptoms: anxiety when idle, preferring to be chased by tasks, unable to enjoy rest because "doing nothing" exposes one's sense of nothingness, absent-minded in intimate relationships, "no time" for self-exploration. Wrong tool used: Work is originally a tool for "creating value + making a living," but it is used as a "value validator + meaning anesthetic." Short-term effective, long-term imbalanced.
  5. Learning and Certificate Hoarding: Using Capability to Cover Identity Emptiness Surface task: improve skills, enhance competitiveness, avoid being eliminated. Deep task: I don't know who I am? So I first become a "very capable person," using a "useful persona" to replace the "true self." Symptoms: signing up for many courses, but few truly touch the heart; resume gets thicker, but the more afraid to ask "So where am I going?" Once you stop learning, huge anxiety and guilt appear. Wrong tool used: Learning is originally a tool to "broaden possibilities," but it is used as an excuse to "delay self-knowledge." It's like adding floors to a house without a proper design; the foundation problem will eventually come back in another form.
  6. Content and Consumption Addiction: Using Emotions to Fill the Existential Black Hole Surface task: relax, entertain, reward oneself. Deep task: temporarily avoid facing the absurdity and emptiness of life, making oneself "feel at least a little good" in the moment. Symptoms: scrolling short videos "not enjoyable, but can't stop," excited before ordering, empty after ordering, dominated by fragmented pleasure all day, but can't say what you did? Wrong tool used: Entertainment and consumption are originally "seasoning" for regulating life, but they are used as the "main structure" supporting the whole pot of soup. Thus: the more emptiness → the more need for stimulation → the stronger the stimulation → the greater the contrast emptiness → more emptiness, compensation evolves into a cycle. How Is Compensation Amplified into a "Compensatory Economy"? Individual compensation is a psychological phenomenon; when a large group compensates in similar patterns, it becomes an economic phenomenon. Why has it evolved into a "compensatory economy" now? At least three forces are converging:
  7. Extreme oversupply → must compete on "emotion" and even "meaning" Functional differentiation is hard: Water is clean, phones work, coffee wakes you up... Brands are forced to compete on emotional, identity, and existential dimensions.
  8. Attention war → whoever hooks emotions faster wins Content platforms naturally favor things that trigger emotions immediately: anger, jealousy, desire, pleasure. These emotions are precisely the soil where compensation most easily occurs.
  9. Structural anxiety → the whole era is looking for painkillers Housing prices, class anxiety, technological change, future uncertainty... People generally feel "life is hard to plan, so just live through today." The result: business systematically designs products and narratives around compensation.
  • Knowing users are using consumption to fill loneliness, design more "shareable," "show-off," "comparable" products;
  • Knowing users are using work to fill self-worth, create more "struggle narratives" and "career myths";
  • Knowing users are using content to numb nothingness, push extreme pleasure points, even actively train users' tolerance to decrease. Compensation is no longer a side effect but a core driver exploited by business. The Cost of Compensation: Double Collapse The biggest problem with compensation is not that it is "wrong," but that it "cannot hold up." Short-term, it is a self-protection mechanism: it prevents being crushed by reality all at once, buying psychological buffer time. Long-term, it evolves into:
  1. The original epicenter dimension remains unresolved The unloved still lack love, just covered with a layer of material The confused are still confused, just with a pile of capability labels The empty are still empty, just covered by entertainment
  2. The compensation dimension itself begins to collapse Working hard for love → overwork, health damage, financial risk Using capability to fill identity → over-involvement in work, burnout, loss of interest Using emotions to fill emptiness → decreased emotional resilience, higher pleasure tolerance, depression/hollowing out On the eight-dimensional spider web chart: Initially, one edge has huge tension, others are still okay Later, the compensation edge also cracks, and the whole web breaks at multiple points At that moment, people experience a very typical feeling: "I am clearly working so hard, playing so well, enduring so much, why am I increasingly unable to hold on?" The answer is simple: You have been using the wrong tools to complete tasks. Brands' Crossroads: Exploit Compensation or Participate in Repair? From the perspective of "compensatory economics," brands stand at a crossroads:
  • Low-level play: reinforce compensation Better-tasting, more addictive alcohol More addictive content and games Products easier to show off and compare Marketing copy that stimulates anxiety Logic: "You are using me to compensate? Great, then I will become the one you can't live without." Short-term financial reports look great, but long-term risks are huge— Once users sense "being used," backlash can be fierce.
  • Mid-level play: gently empathize with compensation Acknowledge that users are using the product to fill a void Express understanding of this state in content and narrative Add a bit of "self-care" element to the product experience For example: Not just selling sleep aids, but also teaching healthy routines and stress management Not just selling a refined lifestyle, but also acknowledging "ordinary is also a path" Not just selling emotional highs, but also giving users a "sense of exit," allowing them to leave freely Here, brands start to transform from pure anesthetics to "companion painkillers"
  • High-level play: help users see the epicenter and provide steps toward it This is the hardest and most promising path. Its logic is: "I know you are using me to compensate now, but I am willing to walk back to the source of the problem with you." How can this be done?
  1. Name the real task at the narrative level Not just say: "You deserve better." Also dare to say: "You are not worthless; you have just been using the wrong tools." Not just say: "Love yourself." Also be specific: "Many things you seek externally are essentially seeking self-acceptance."
  2. Embed "inward mechanisms" in product/service design For example: during use, continuously guide users to reflect: "What do I really need now?" Use communities, rituals, and content to help users have a dialogue with themselves during use, rather than just being pushed along
  3. In business models, minimize "the more addicted, the more profitable" mechanisms Try to change to a structure where "the more clear-headed, the more long-term value": Subscription + companion products Reusable but not over-consuming cognitive and emotional resources More like "tools" and "partners," not "casinos" and "cigarette addictions" Such brands will gradually accumulate something: trust. Not "I trust your product works," but "I trust you won't exploit my vulnerability." From PMF to PSF: Product-Soul Fit Traditional business pursues PMF (Product-Market Fit): find a product that fits a market need gap. From the perspective of "compensatory economics," we can add a layer: PSF (Product-Soul Fit) = the degree of match between a product's value polygon and a group's problem polygon. A group: has their common "eight-dimensional problem fingerprint"; A brand: has its "eight-dimensional value shape" that it excels at covering. When these two polygons have a sufficiently large and precise overlap area: Users will say: "This brand understands me." And the brand will not just manipulate compensation but help users live better. PMF satisfies the "market"; PSF satisfies "the person as a whole being." In the Age of Compensation, How Not to Live a "Mismatched Tool Life"? After all this, let me summarize in two sentences: For individuals: Whenever you have a strong impulse, ask yourself:
  • What is my real task right now?
  • Am I using the wrong tool to complete this task?
  • Am I using shopping to complete the task of "being understood"?
  • Am I using work to complete the task of "self-worth confirmation"?
  • Am I using entertainment to complete the task of "escaping nothingness"? Just being aware of this will loosen the tension of compensation a little. For brands: You can choose to be a stronger anesthetic, or you can choose to be a gentle and clear-minded companion. The first is faster, the second is farther. And whether we can move from a "compensatory economy" to a "repair economy" and "meaning economy"? This is likely a question that this generation of brands and this generation of people must answer together. Compensation will not disappear; it is part of our mental structure. The difference is: Whether we are led by it or learn to hold that eight-dimensional spider web and understand a bit more about our own life structure. [Moving Toward C-End] The 11th China FMCG Conference Time: March 16-18, 2026 Location: Chengdu, China