Japanese High Schoolers' No. 2 Slang Term Is "Dopamine-Addicted Kid"

Autumn Trends, According to 200 High Schoolers

Shibuya Trend Research, run by the Japanese company ING Co., Ltd., regularly asks high schoolers what's trending. It started surveying high school girls face to face on the streets of Shibuya in 1995. These days, it asks both boys and girls every month.

The autumn special released on October 2 shared the results of an online survey of 200 high schoolers aged 15-18, conducted from September 15 to 21. It ranked 15 categories, including slang, snacks, photo poses, and characters. The numbers in parentheses show the percentage of people who picked each answer. For the slang question, they could choose more than one.

They Call Each Other "Dopagaki" and Laugh About It

Just like in the previous survey, "meroi (メロい)" took the top spot for slang (20.3%). It's become a compliment for when you find someone cool and appealing, not just their looks, but their actions, vibe, and who they are on the inside, too.

Second place went to "dopagaki (ドパガキ)" (14.0%). It's internet slang that's short for "dopamine-addicted kid". You use it to tease yourself or a friend for struggling to focus after getting hooked on things that deliver a quick, intense hit of stimulation, like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, social media, or mobile games. Lots of respondents said they call each other dopagaki at school and laugh about it. The company behind the survey saw it as more of a funny nickname than an insult.

Third place went to "frenemy (フレネミー)" (7.7%). It combines "friend" and "enemy" and means someone who acts like your friend but secretly feels jealous or sees you as a rival. But high schoolers apparently use it as a playful comeback when a close friend makes a slightly barbed joke: "That's a frenemy move!" It's the kind of joke you can make because you're close.

One of the company's picks for the next trending slang term is "dopai (ドパい)", which grew out of dopagaki. Apparently, when you're excited and your energy is through the roof, you say, "So dopai!"

Malatang Tops the Snack Ranking Again

Malatang took first place in snacks (29.6%). The company wrote that you could pretty much say it's earned a spot in the hall of fame of high school food trends. Lots of respondents said they liked being able to pick whatever ingredients they wanted and that the taste kept them coming back.

Second place went to Yoajung (ヨアジョン) (12.5%). It's a dessert that started at a frozen yogurt shop that became a huge hit in Korea. In Japan, the name is apparently used as a general term for Korean-style frozen yogurt served with toppings. Yoajung's fresh fruit yogurt mochi also made the list of potential next trends.

Butter mochi and Tsukimi burgers tied for third place (3.7% each). Butter mochi is a snack that originated in Shanghai, made by baking glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour with plenty of butter and milk. Here's the fun part: the survey company described its texture using the Korean expression "geotbasokchok", meaning crispy outside and soft and moist inside. Tsukimi burgers are seasonal menu items that several companies release around the same time every autumn. Tsukimi means "moon viewing".

Further down the list, sweet potato desserts (3.2%) and sweet potatoes (2.8%) both made the top 10.

For Photos, Half Your Face Goes Behind Your Phone

The No. 1 photo pose was hiding your face with your phone (17.2%). You casually cover your mouth or the area below your nose with your phone for the shot. The company called it Japan's go-to pose right now. The reasons? You can do it straight away with something that's always in your hand, and the photo looks natural.

In the character category, Chiikawa took first place with 51.9%. Second place had 7.8%, so that's a huge gap. The company believes Chiikawa's popularity grew even more after its first animated movie hit theaters.

When a friend makes a slightly barbed joke, do you laugh and joke back, or take it seriously? If you're curious, try DoYouBox's "Are You a T? (T vs F)". Pick how you'd react in 6 situations you might run into with friends. Send your result to a friend, and it shows your reactions side by side so you can see who reacted differently and where. For a showdown of snack tastes, try "Snack Bracket: Sweet 16". It pits 16 convenience store and street snacks against each other, and malatang is one of the contenders.