Turn off birthday alerts for friends? A Korean repost asks what friendship costs

“Why meet me—is there something to gain?” One screenshot asks that after seeing an old friend. Beside it sits another person's idea of opting out of birthday gifts. A discussion about spending has become a question about trust.

Theqoo's Square board reposted two X screenshots at 10:28 a.m. KST on Oct. 25, under a headline about a growing trend among people in their twenties and thirties. One writer describes discomfort after meeting an old acquaintance; the quoted post discusses birthday gifts and the expense of seeing friends. The full original X threads were not independently checked.

The juxtaposition makes two kinds of strain visible: the cost of meals, travel and presents, and the fear that a relationship has become transactional. Moving from “meeting is expensive” to “am I useful to this person?” turns a budget issue into an emotional one. The post's counters show attention, not a quantified consensus.

Two distinct voices can actually be read in the images. The quoted post proposes turning off birthday notifications and mutually forgoing gifts to ease the obligation. The author reposting it worries about why an old acquaintance would want to meet. Those are not interchangeable views or proof of what most commenters think. The 206 individual Theqoo comments were not examined.

Friendflation combines ‘friend’ and ‘inflation’ to describe the rising cost of socializing. Agreeing to exchange fewer gifts can be read as emotional withdrawal—or as an effort to protect the friendship from financial pressure. A screenshot alone cannot settle which explanation fits a particular pair.

A July 29 Dong-A Ilbo report on a June survey of 601 Gen Z respondents said 71.2% had reduced friendship-related spending in the past year. This is a self-reported result for that sample, not proof that 71.2% of everyone in their twenties and thirties has abandoned friends. The original X posts' full context and the private circumstances described remain unverified.

The next question is not simply whether to meet less, but whether cheaper ways of meeting and explicit gift boundaries can preserve closeness. A fuller reading of the original discussions would be needed to map genuine agreement or disagreement.