Media and the glorification of overconsumption.

By Saanika Ahlawat

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If you don't purchase every new product your fav influencer recommends, if you don't follow the latest fashion...then you can't sit with us. Amazon must haves, Shein hauls, Stanley Cups, overconsumption is now a race and everyone is gunning for gold. 

Influencers and haul culture

If you've ever been online, then chances are you've come across hauls, get ready with me and restocking videos, A  constant glorification of ‘TikTok made me buy it’ culture. Amid micro-trends and fast fashion, overconsumption seems to be the only constant and  Influencers are the spearheads of this movement.

Influencers indulge in impulsive buying and mass purchasing. Their lavish and out-of-touch lifestyle gives regular people a feeling of FOMO(fear of missing out).  People perceive us based on our possessions and to emulate the lifestyle of these influencers, people consume more to feel like they belong and are associated with them. Every minute the algorithm bombards us with images and messages reinforcing certain standards. Their vlogs allow us to live vicariously through them, their way of living seems to be what makes them happy and to feel the same we attempt to follow their unsustainable, materialistic lifestyle.

Influencers and celebrities constantly promote and encourage people to buy from or consume a certain brand/product. This has started a cycle of micro-trends, overconsumption, anti hauls when the fad is over and then you begin again.

Produce, Use, Discard. These “influencers” are quite literally influencing people into buying products “you never knew you needed!”. They endorse products, praise them highly and for your convenience, link it down in the description and you, the consumer, buy without thinking twice. Where is that sweater now? Oh yeah, rotting in the back of your closet after you wore it once. 

How to fill that void in you (No borax, No glue)

Do you feel sad, depressed, alone? You know what will cheer you up?  Buying things!  The only way to fill that bottomless pit in you is to keep throwing in every material trend you can find, only to forget about it in 2 weeks. But that's okay because Instagram says  that there's something even better, Shinier  here to replace it with.  There is no need to worry about the end of a micro trend because there is a new one just around the corner.  

One of the best examples of this is the infamous Stanley cup. The craze began when celebrities and influencers began talking about, collecting and even matching stanley cups with their outfits. What began as a seemingly harmless trend gained traction at a concerning level and resulted in cult-like behaviour by consumers. People have even gone as far as to buy accessories for their stanleys making “Stanley cup essentials'' videos, showing off and recommending what expensive products to buy for their expensive Stanley cups. Oh sorry, Collection of Stanley cups. Like I said before, our possessions show other people what sort of lives we lead and if you don't have the latest Barbie x Rhode x Beyonce limited edition Skims eyeliner, then what are you even doing with your life? These objects give us a temporary  illusion of community and validation. These days the line between a need and a want is so blurry that its practically non-existent. This however, shouldn't be surprising given the unlimited and unchecked access people have to online stores.

I'm not like other influencers

I'm a de-influencer :) [it's the same thing]

So things aren't all bad I suppose, people have begun to realise the impact of their gross consumption rates and this has led to the rise of the ‘De-influencers’. De-influencers are the antithesis of regular influencers, at least that's what they claim to be. But if you take a closer look you'll realise that instead of just telling to not buy a product and use what you already have,they steer you towards a different product, that they claim is more sustainable and cheap (spoiler - it's usually not). 

Unhauls and anti-hauls are now what's in and suddenly everyone wants to jump onto the sustainability bandwagon. Now while this may seem great, these big influencers and celebrities don't actually care. They'll make a big show of their anti-hauls and save the planet sentiment but two reels later they're back to promoting the same old brands. They're still promoting unnecessary consumerism. Out with the old and in with the new, the trendy, the ‘what will get me more likes?’.

The old, the ‘no longer a fashion’ is thrown out and creates a massive influx of waste. Right now, we need about 1.75 planets to provide for our resources and to absorb our waste. By 2030 we’ll require two planets. We can still combat these consumption rates, learn to differentiate needs and desires, shop secondhand, and take your time to think things through before buying any new products, will you make good use of it? Or is it going in the bin?