Coloring book fad unlikely to last test of time

By Liu Zhun Source:Global Times Published: 2015-7-31 21:53:01

Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT



You think coloring books are just for kids? Amazon's bestseller list will show you that grown-ups have just as big a liking for them, despite some embarrassment that adults enjoy an activity as childish as coloring.

The trend was started by illustrator Johanna Basford's 2013 book Secret Garden. In only two years, the book has been translated into 22 languages and sold 2 million copies worldwide. For eight months it stayed in the Top 100 list of Amazon bestselling books.

Since June when the Chinese version was launched, it has hit first place in the bestseller list for all major Chinese Internet-based retailers within a month. JD.com, one of the biggest online retailers, even came up with a new department on its website for Secret Garden and its like, called "coloring books/pressure-relief books."

That's the excuse given by most adult fans of these books, pressure relief. The theory, although it hasn't gone through any empirical studies, is endorsed by quite a few experts.

A Quartz article quoted therapist Saba Harouni, who said that the coloring books can act as a de-stressor, relaxing the nerves of adults who have to take on an increasing number of responsibilities. Ironically, coloring books have often been viewed with disregard by educational experts, who blame them for restricting children's natural creativity to within set lines.

But the coloring books can help us regain something that we're losing, the ability to concentrate. Distracted by the flood of information and interconnected technologies, we have found ourselves getting harder to focus.

Due to the sophisticated patterns and thick lines, it usually takes a long time to finish filling in all the lines in one page. Once you get immersed, you will find it hard to stop.

The coloring books kill two birds with one stone. They provide a cathartic outlet as well as a catalyst for meditation. But will the popularity of coloring books last, or will the craze only give them 15 minutes of fame?

It is likely that a lot of painters, especially those who have some OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, will notice that they have spent too much time coloring in a book that is almost useless in addressing their real problems. After a while, some will find out the only drive that keeps them coloring is the thumbs-up after they post their works on Weibo, Instagram or Facebook.

Actually, some old painters have already started to give up and pass on their unfinished books to newbies. These used-up coloring books will probably not be regarded as an aid to reduce pressure or help people find "inner peace." They will be a burden like the other encumbrances people are shouldering every day.

The fashion for coloring books might be making some illustrators rich, but, like other fads from Pet Rocks to Tamagotchis, it'll disappear and leave the detritus of the boom behind it. Fashionable crazes don't live long, because they are capricious by their very nature. Sooner or later, the enthusiasm will die down and these books will return to the niche market, or be back into the hands of kids where they belong.

The author is a Global Times reporter. liuzhun@globaltimes.com.cn



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