With the rise of social media activity in the past couple of years, people all around the world have rushed to buy their Stanley Cups, gua sha face rollers, bucket hats, Ugg minis, jumpsuits, that one bag you can fit your whole life into, sunset lamps, plastic vines for room decoration, snail mucin, acrylic nails, and the latest trending book with everyone’s favorite tropes. Everybody wants to emulate the way their favorite TikTok creators get ready in the morning and fill their closets with clothes that mimic the style of the cutest Instagram influencers. Of course, I want to live the lifestyle that would allow me to be the best version of myself I can be, which means I need to buy every single book on my for you page, own all of the same fancy baking supplies as my favorite Instagram recipe girl, stick some expensive Taylor Swift posters on my wall, and dump out my whole closet to replace it with Brandy Melville.
Over-consumerism is plaguing the world with the desire to buy things we don’t need just because we saw someone online who has it. We so easily give into the pressure of spending our money on something because everyone else is doing it, potentially to the point of living outside our means. I have seen it firsthand at my workplace. I work for a brand that has been trending recently, and even there I see so many teenagers coming in to look for the items they saw on TikTok, and it is the brand name that matters more to them than the products itself. I know this because they only will buy things that say “Stüssy” on them and do not seem to care for the more inconspicuous items that will not loudly broadcast their ability to keep up with the latest trends. The pressure placed on teens all around the world to keep up with trends that require money and all of these expensive items are harming not only ourselves but also the environment. What happens to all of these things we buy once they go out of fashion? Most of the clothes we donate do not end up in the hands of those in need, but in landfills. We need to do better about being mindful of what we are buying, and checking with ourselves if we actually need all of these things we are buying.
