After the shock of the dollar price increase; Has entertainment in Iran become a luxury item?

The sudden increase in the price of the dollar was not just a number on the exchange board. This mutation slowly penetrated into the smallest layers of daily life and changed the way people lived.

Food baskets became smaller, housing choices more limited, education costs more burdensome, and travel more like a distant commodity. Many people check the prices several times before buying, some have deleted monthly plans, and others have had to rearrange their life priorities.

In the meantime, entertainment has found a vague place. On the one hand, economic pressure makes it the first option eliminated from the household budget, and on the other hand, life without fun practically ends in mental exhaustion. This contradiction raises an important question:

Is entertainment in Iran becoming a luxury item?
Or are people just forced to change their form of entertainment, without abandoning the need for entertainment and happiness?

A question that cannot be answered only in the price of a cinema ticket or the cost of a night out in a cafe. To understand this change, one must go to people’s behavior; What things are removed from their life basket and what things are still preserved despite the economic pressure.

Is entertainment the first thing to be eliminated?

In the classical economic view, entertainment has always been one of the eliminable expenses. When he doesn’t want to spend money, the first thing he sacrifices is fun. But today’s reality is a bit more complicated than this simple formula.

Examining the behavior of users of entertainment platforms shows that people have not necessarily eliminated entertainment, but their type of entertainment It has changed.
Reports published by some entertainment market monitoring authorities, including collected data, show that:

• The demand for expensive and luxury entertainment has decreased
• On the other hand, entertainments that have a higher experience value than the price have still maintained their audience.

From foreign travel to city entertainment

Until a few years ago, foreign travel was one of the symbols of middle-class leisure. But today, even domestic travel has become an expensive decision for many families. In this situation, urban recreation has returned to the center of attention. When domestic travel is not possible in the current economic conditions, it is replaced by entertainment such as parks and cafes, amusement parks, etc.

Luxury entertainment or more conscious?

The EscapeZoom website (EscapeZoom.ir), as a reference for introducing and booking group games, points out an important point in its analytical reports:
More than ever, people are looking for purposeful entertainment; Entertainment that makes memories, not just to fill time.

Maybe it’s better to use the word more selective instead of luxury. People go out for fun less, but when they do, they choose more carefully.

The future of the entertainment industry in Iran

If the 180,000 Toman dollar lasts (or even if it doesn’t), one thing is certain:
Entertainment cannot be eliminated, but it changes its shape and adapts to people’s financial ability.

Entertainment is not a luxury need; It is a psychological need

Perhaps the most important error of analysis is the purely economic view of entertainment. In a society with high psychological pressure, recreation is not just fun; It is a kind of psychological drain.
Eliminating fun altogether has a cost that is later seen but more profound. This is why even in the most difficult economic conditions, people still find a way to breathe; Although short, however limited.
This is precisely why the entertainment industry is still alive.

last word

Perhaps the most important lesson of this course is:
In times of economic stress, people have less fun, but if they’re going to have fun, they want it The best possible choice to have