A new consumer trend polarizing social media is a good way to start your responsible consumption lifestyle.
TikTok trends hugely impact a person’s way of life. From the clothes they wear to the jokes they crack—the influence of the personalized video feed-based app is truly undeniable. Recently, the rise of organizing and restocking videos on TikTok became prevalent. People are filming themselves buying excessive amounts of groceries, stationery, and toiletries to film a satisfying ASMR-like video. However, people are now noticing how wasteful and unrealistic the trend is—even claiming that the trend promotes overconsumption and negative consumerism.
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And yet, the TikTok shop affiliate content creators are everywhere on the app. With e-commerce as one of the new main features of the application—content creators are now finding more ways to convince consumers to buy their products. It seems that every time you scroll through your feed, no matter what content you normally consume, a content creator will sell you a product they are an affiliate of.
Counter-trend
On the other side of TikTok lies a countermovement on the rise. Underconsumption core is the term people use to describe their way of moving away from the influence of social media in their consumer behavior. Furthermore, it is the movement wherein people are sharing how they are currently enjoying the things they bought years ago—emphasizing the longevity of their purchase. Also, the underconsumption core is mainly just buying what you need and using what you already have.
Underconsumption core also follows the “de-influencing” trend wherein people share negative reviews of influencer-marketed products. Furthermore, the responsible and conscious consumerism behavior that the trend promotes stems from economic, social, and environmental concerns. Underconsumption core is an approach many people appreciate—since it helps them pace themselves in the fast consumerist world online.
More Than A Trend
Though underconsumption core is a good start for conscious and sustainable consumerism, it is still considered an aesthetic, a trend even. Furthermore, the problem lies with the longevity of a trend—should normal consumer behavior be a passing trend? Of course not. Being socially, economically, and environmentally considerate of your consumption should be the norm.
Banner photo by Cottonbro Studio via Pexels.
