Why read this: This article asks a question your students already live with: are shopping apps designed to make you spend too much? It links three things they often see online — TikTok-style videos, livestream shopping, and short sales — to a real medical problem called shopping addiction. Students meet the European Union as a regulator, hear from a former shopaholic, and see how China leads the world in this new kind of shopping.
What to notice: The article is built in three steps. First, it shows how online apps mix shopping with fun. Second, it shows that governments and researchers are worried. Third, it shows that China started these ideas, and they are now spreading to the West. Notice the words "may" and "can" — the writer uses them to show that these are ideas, not certain facts. Notice also how numbers are made simple: "5 in every 100 people" is easier to picture than "5%".
Skills practised: Students practise following an argument across many short paragraphs. They learn to spot signal words at the start of paragraphs ("Now", "Why", "Much of this research"). They also practise reading numbers in context and using two pieces of information from different paragraphs to answer one question. The open questions ask them to explain reasons and to compare two countries using clear evidence.
Are you addicted to shopping?
Apps mix shopping with fun videos. Some people cannot stop spending.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
Have you ever scrolledscroll: To change one's view of data on a computer's display, typically using a scroll bar or a scroll wheel to move in gradual increments — 滚动屏幕;翻看 through social media late at night and bought something you did not really need? Many people have, and some shop so often that they cannot stop. Doctors call this problem shopping addictionaddiction: The state of being physically or psychologically dependent on a substance or activity. — 成瘾；上瘾.
Shopping is changing fast. Apps like TikTok now mixmix: to combine two or more things together — 混合；搅拌 shopping with fun videos, and a new kind of selling called livestream shopping: buying things while watching a live video where a host shows products in real time — 直播购物 has grown quickly. A friendly hosthost: a person who invites guests and takes care of them; a person who presents a TV show — 主人；主持人 shows products on a live video, plays games, gives quizzesquiz: An odd, puzzling or absurd person or thing — 怪人, and chats with viewersviewer: a person who watches television or looks at something — 观众；观看者. The goal is simple: make you want to buy.
Governments and researchers are worried that these apps push people to spend too much. A few years ago, the European Union made a rule that says online platforms must not tricktrick: something you do to deceive someone or to entertain people — 把戏；诡计 their users. Now the European Commission is looking at Temu, a Chinese shopping app, partlypartly: To some extent; not completely. — 部分地；在一定程度上 because of its addictive design: the way an app is built so that users keep using it more than they want to — 成瘾设计. Many new studiesstudies: An academic field of study concerning the given subject — 研究领域 on shopping addiction have also come out latelylately: Recently; not long ago. — 最近；近来.
This problem is serious. Unlike gamblinggambling: The activity of playing games of chance for money or betting on uncertain outcomes. — 赌博；赌博活动, shopping is something everyone must do, so it can be hard to spotspot: To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify — 察觉;认出 when shopping becomes an illness. Studies in several countries say about 5 in every 100 people have it. This is much more than a normal impulse buy: something a person buys suddenly, without planning, because they feel like it in the moment — 冲动消费: it can hurt families and leave people in heavy debtdebt: A sum of money that is owed to someone. — 债务；欠款. Avis Cardella, a formerformer: Having previously been a particular thing; of an earlier time. — 以前的；前任的 shopaholicshopaholic: One who shops very frequently — 购物狂, says she would buy things "as if in a dream", and felt out of control.
People have shopped online for years, but what is new is how they shop. In America, people will spend about $86 billion through social media this year, which is about 6 in every 100 dollars spent online. More than 1 in 5 online shoppersshopper: A person who shops — 购物者 will buy something from a livestream. Shopping can change the brain: it gives a quick rushrush: Any of several stiff plants of the genus Juncus, or the family Juncaceae, having hollow or pithy stems and small flowers, and often growing in marshes or near water — 灯心草属植物 of pleasurepleasure: A feeling of happiness or enjoyment. — 快乐；愉悦, then the good feeling drops. "It's not about the things you buy," says Pamela Roberts, a therapisttherapist: A person trained in methods of treatment and rehabilitation, especially a psychotherapist. — 治疗师；心理治疗师. "It's the excitementexcitement: A feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness. — 兴奋；激动, and then the shameshame: A painful feeling of humiliation caused by wrong or foolish behaviour; something regrettable. — 羞耻；遗憾 afterwardsafterwards: At a later time; subsequently. — 后来；之后."
Why is online shopping so hard to resistresist: To withstand the action or effect of something; to refrain from accepting or complying. — 抵抗；抵制；忍住? Friends and strangersstranger: a person that you do not know — 陌生人 post reviews and tips, which can make people feel they must buy too. A 2025 study linked compulsivecompulsive: Uncontrolled or reactive and irresistible — 强迫性的;无法自控的 online shopping to a fear of missing out: the worry that other people are enjoying or getting something good while you are not — 错失恐惧（FOMO）. Brandsbrand: A type of product made by a particular company, identified by a name or symbol. — 品牌；牌子 use this feeling: they show happy customers and offer short sales that end soon. Chinese researchers also point to small "moodmood: the way someone is feeling at a particular time — 心情；情绪 signalssignal: a movement, light, or sound that gives information or tells people what to do — 信号；暗号" in livestreams, such as a host's jokes or live chat, that may push people to buy.
Much of this research comes from China for a reason. Online shops there started these ideas first. social-commerce: buying and selling done through social-media apps rather than normal shopping websites — 社交电商 sales in China will pass $1 trillion this year, far more than in America. By the end of 2024, three in four Chinese internet users were watching livestreams. In one 2023 survey, almost 80% of people said they struggledstruggle: To make forceful efforts to achieve something despite difficulty; to fight or wrestle. — 奋斗；挣扎；努力 to control their online shopping.
Chinese ideas are now spreadingspread: to cover a larger area; to reach more people — 传播；蔓延 abroad. Western shoppers spend hours scrolling through Temu and Shein, which are full of short sales and rewardreward: Something given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. — 奖励；报酬；回报 points. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, said its US shopping sales grew by 120% in early 2025, and its shopping feature also opened in France, Germany, and Italy. New rules to slow shoppers down may be unpopularunpopular: Not liked or popular; disliked or ignored by the public — 遭人嫌弃的, and design trickstrick: Something designed to fool or swindle — 诡计;骗局 will not turn everyone into an addictaddict: A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug — 成瘾者. As Mark Griffiths, an addiction expert, says: there is a fine line: a small difference between two things, where one can easily turn into the other — 微妙界线 between helping people and pushing them too far.
Have you ever scrolledscroll: To change one's view of data on a computer's display, typically using a scroll bar or a scroll wheel to move in gradual increments — 滚动屏幕;翻看 through social media late at night and bought something you did not really need? Many people have, and some shop so often that they cannot stop. Doctors call this problem shopping addictionaddiction: The state of being physically or psychologically dependent on a substance or activity. — 成瘾；上瘾.
Shopping is changing fast. Apps like TikTok now mixmix: to combine two or more things together — 混合；搅拌 shopping with fun videos, and a new kind of selling called livestream shopping: buying things while watching a live video where a host shows products in real time — 直播购物 has grown quickly. A friendly hosthost: a person who invites guests and takes care of them; a person who presents a TV show — 主人；主持人 shows products on a live video, plays games, gives quizzesquiz: An odd, puzzling or absurd person or thing — 怪人, and chats with viewersviewer: a person who watches television or looks at something — 观众；观看者. The goal is simple: make you want to buy.
Governments and researchers are worried that these apps push people to spend too much. A few years ago, the European Union made a rule that says online platforms must not tricktrick: something you do to deceive someone or to entertain people — 把戏；诡计 their users. Now the European Commission is looking at Temu, a Chinese shopping app, partlypartly: To some extent; not completely. — 部分地；在一定程度上 because of its addictive design: the way an app is built so that users keep using it more than they want to — 成瘾设计. Many new studiesstudies: An academic field of study concerning the given subject — 研究领域 on shopping addiction have also come out latelylately: Recently; not long ago. — 最近；近来.
This problem is serious. Unlike gamblinggambling: The activity of playing games of chance for money or betting on uncertain outcomes. — 赌博；赌博活动, shopping is something everyone must do, so it can be hard to spotspot: To see, find; to pick out, notice, locate, distinguish or identify — 察觉;认出 when shopping becomes an illness. Studies in several countries say about 5 in every 100 people have it. This is much more than a normal impulse buy: something a person buys suddenly, without planning, because they feel like it in the moment — 冲动消费: it can hurt families and leave people in heavy debtdebt: A sum of money that is owed to someone. — 债务；欠款. Avis Cardella, a formerformer: Having previously been a particular thing; of an earlier time. — 以前的；前任的 shopaholicshopaholic: One who shops very frequently — 购物狂, says she would buy things "as if in a dream", and felt out of control.
People have shopped online for years, but what is new is how they shop. In America, people will spend about $86 billion through social media this year, which is about 6 in every 100 dollars spent online. More than 1 in 5 online shoppersshopper: A person who shops — 购物者 will buy something from a livestream. Shopping can change the brain: it gives a quick rushrush: Any of several stiff plants of the genus Juncus, or the family Juncaceae, having hollow or pithy stems and small flowers, and often growing in marshes or near water — 灯心草属植物 of pleasurepleasure: A feeling of happiness or enjoyment. — 快乐；愉悦, then the good feeling drops. "It's not about the things you buy," says Pamela Roberts, a therapisttherapist: A person trained in methods of treatment and rehabilitation, especially a psychotherapist. — 治疗师；心理治疗师. "It's the excitementexcitement: A feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness. — 兴奋；激动, and then the shameshame: A painful feeling of humiliation caused by wrong or foolish behaviour; something regrettable. — 羞耻；遗憾 afterwardsafterwards: At a later time; subsequently. — 后来；之后."
Why is online shopping so hard to resistresist: To withstand the action or effect of something; to refrain from accepting or complying. — 抵抗；抵制；忍住? Friends and strangersstranger: a person that you do not know — 陌生人 post reviews and tips, which can make people feel they must buy too. A 2025 study linked compulsivecompulsive: Uncontrolled or reactive and irresistible — 强迫性的;无法自控的 online shopping to a fear of missing out: the worry that other people are enjoying or getting something good while you are not — 错失恐惧（FOMO）. Brandsbrand: A type of product made by a particular company, identified by a name or symbol. — 品牌；牌子 use this feeling: they show happy customers and offer short sales that end soon. Chinese researchers also point to small "moodmood: the way someone is feeling at a particular time — 心情；情绪 signalssignal: a movement, light, or sound that gives information or tells people what to do — 信号；暗号" in livestreams, such as a host's jokes or live chat, that may push people to buy.
Much of this research comes from China for a reason. Online shops there started these ideas first. social-commerce: buying and selling done through social-media apps rather than normal shopping websites — 社交电商 sales in China will pass $1 trillion this year, far more than in America. By the end of 2024, three in four Chinese internet users were watching livestreams. In one 2023 survey, almost 80% of people said they struggledstruggle: To make forceful efforts to achieve something despite difficulty; to fight or wrestle. — 奋斗；挣扎；努力 to control their online shopping.
Chinese ideas are now spreadingspread: to cover a larger area; to reach more people — 传播；蔓延 abroad. Western shoppers spend hours scrolling through Temu and Shein, which are full of short sales and rewardreward: Something given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. — 奖励；报酬；回报 points. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, said its US shopping sales grew by 120% in early 2025, and its shopping feature also opened in France, Germany, and Italy. New rules to slow shoppers down may be unpopularunpopular: Not liked or popular; disliked or ignored by the public — 遭人嫌弃的, and design trickstrick: Something designed to fool or swindle — 诡计;骗局 will not turn everyone into an addictaddict: A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug — 成瘾者. As Mark Griffiths, an addiction expert, says: there is a fine line: a small difference between two things, where one can easily turn into the other — 微妙界线 between helping people and pushing them too far.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is livestream shopping?
- 02
Why is the European Commission looking at the Chinese app Temu?
- 03
What does the article suggest about online shopping in China compared to the United States?
- 04
Explain why some people find it hard to stop shopping online. Use two reasons from the article.
Suggested length: ~70 words
- 05
Compare online shopping in China and in America, using numbers from the article.
Suggested length: ~70 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
What is livestream shopping?
- 02
Why is the European Commission looking at the Chinese app Temu?
- 03
What does the article suggest about online shopping in China compared to the United States?
- 04
Explain why some people find it hard to stop shopping online. Use two reasons from the article.
Suggested length: ~70 words
- 05
Compare online shopping in China and in America, using numbers from the article.
Suggested length: ~70 words