What began as a basic collectable toy has grown into one of the most viral global trends of the year. Labubu dolls, now the most seen social media feeds, sell out in minutes, and now show up in the hands of influencers and celebrities worldwide. But behind the hype, fame, collectors, and experts warn that Labubus are creating unexpected problems from scams and misinformation on social media, causing fights, pressure, and even claims of demonic inspiration.
In the past months, students at East Leyden and Triton college have reported rising problems linked to the rapid global spread of Labubu dolls. TikTok trends and celebrity posts have brought new problems into their communities which involved scams, arguments, and pressure to buy rare dolls. The Labubu trend spreads while creating toxic competition against teenagers and young adults.
Labubus are cute collectible toys which started as characters in a book series, “The Monsters” created by artist, Kasing Lung in 2015. Labubus became so popular once POP MART released the toys in blind boxes. After sales started increasing, popularity, and trends caused Labubus to sell out within minutes and more rare versions started reselling for higher prices.
Labubu’s popularity reflects how people engage with trends online. StockX CEO, Grey Schwartz said, “These trends reflect the ways people are expressing themselves through what they wear and collect”. The collectable blind boxes, social media, and celebrity posts all combined into causing what helped Labubus spread so quickly worldwide.
Celebrities and influencers played a huge role in Labubus global rise. Lisa Freedman, a member of BLACKPINK said, “I think Labubu represents a very different GenZ or even GenAlpha way of consuming social media. They might learn about trends by following celebrity influencers and watching short, attention grabbing videos.” These viral videos are getting posted about Labubus which are making them more visible and are encouraging fans to collect them.
Another big part that plays in Labubus rapid global spread is from the joy of collecting. Vivian Le said, “ I love that they are a playful accessory that also expresses a lot of emotions from its presence. I love blind box toys since that’s the only chance to own something rare or special.” Limited edition toys or figures start competition among fans, making each toy more valuable, keeping them popular worldwide.
While Labubus are fun collectables that become global rapidly, its popularity has caused issues. Olivia Klama, a sophomore at East Leyden said, I think the impact on Labubus is in the middle but more towards the negative impact towards our community because there’s like already scams going on and people are scamming people with the Labubus and cause them to start fights over the Labubus and all this stuff.” More negativity is impacted from Labubus than positivity.
Labubus’ rise started causing unusual claims and linking the toys to demonic inspirations. Eloy Monarrez iii, a sophomore at East Leyden said, “TikTok showed me how there was a demon that looks like a Labubu and it’s called Pazuzu which is a similar reference to Labubu which is pretty scary.” Some researchers compared The Labubu to Pazuzu, which showed that they have similar features like wide eyes, sharp teeth, and pointed ears. This caused a global craze worldwide.
Aside from rumours and disagreements, the fame has heated many influencers and young adult competition. Veronica Hoim, a freshman at Triton College said, “…social media influencers would also post them and people would wear them as fashionable accessories…” Showing how online trends encourage fans to buy quickly and compete for more collectibles like Labubus.
When influencers started showing off Labubus online, the competition started increasing, Sofia Tolentino, a sophomore at East Leyden said, “It was just a trend on social media, and then it started growing because of the celebrities that started buying them.” Many active posts online, makes fans get the latest release which causes global craze to increase.
Fans engage with Labubus by sharing unboxing videos, customizing toys, and participating in online communities. Limited editions and new figures encourage repetitive purchases and it keeps customers on their feet about their excitement.
Labubus popularity became international when it started appearing in fashion, pop culture, and social media worldwide. Rare figures show how fragile collectables became so global.
Since Labubus were becoming more fragile based on how rare they were, they started increasing in resale markets by a lot. Different collectors would compete for rare figures, sometimes selling for double or even triple the price. A life size Labubu was sold for over $170,000, showing how shortage drives value and excitement among fans worldwide.
The Labubu global craze can create stress and hard core competition . Dr. Palmer-Cooper, a psychologist explained “When a hobby begins to dominate someone’s life… social dynamics can become toxic if they shift from showing joy, competition, or status.” Fans can get a lot of anxiety from this pressure.
Labubu isn’t just a toy, it shows how trends and social media shapes many behaviors between people globally. Fans post, collect, and compete oline. This creates a global community. As Veronica Hoim said, “Social media influencers would also post them and people would wear them as fashionable accessories.”
