In the last year, the word “consumerism” has been thrown around quite a bit. Whether it be in comment sections of a TikTok influencers Shein haul, or a YouTubers three hour long deep dive into how we buy, the word has entered our everyday social media vocabulary. But why? What does it even mean, and is it something we’re mindlessly throwing around? And how does it tie back into the need to prove oneself, and performative consumerism?
Consumerism, as defined by Oxford Languages Dictionary, means “the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers.” Basically, the encouragement to consume to reach a state of satisfaction with oneself. Online specifically, we’ve been talking about the buying aspect of consumerism. Consumerism, historically, is an off branch of capitalism. Capitalism in America began prevailing during the roaring 20s, a shift that’s still historically important. The 1920s was marked by its industrial growth, social liberation, and advancements in technology, with growth in unique American culture. Production in the United States grew to heights never seen before, leading to more items to be bought, and more people participating in capitalism outside of necessities such as food, toiletries, and clothing with a purpose other than fashion.
However, the 1930s Great Depression brought this early era of consumerism to an end, and it wouldn’t be until the 1950s when we’d see such levels of consumption in America again. While these time periods of consumerism are not on the level of modern consumption, it’s still an early warning as to what would come. The easier it was to buy, the easier it would be to spend. And that’s where we are today, with Amazon offering same day shipping, and sites like Shien and Temu having seemingly amazing deals. Online shopping is peak consumerism, the highest point we’ve ever reached. As trends on social media are being spit out every couple of hours, these websites must adapt to keep up and make maximum profit. Which, in turn, leads to less quality in the products the consumer is purchasing, and knockoffs, or “dupes” as social media has coined them, being much more accessible than the real thing.
Dupe culture has spawned from this, and needing the real thing to be following the trend has completely gone out the window. Trends are not just items or brands anymore, they’re now ideas. Lafufu’s, the dupe of Labubu’s (which if you’re interested in reading up on, check out Emersyn’s story, titled “What Are Labubu’s?”), have even started their own niche based off just being fake. It’s almost like a Russian nesting doll of consumerism, niche of a niche of a niche of consuming all in one, and you’d need to be chronically online for any of it to make sense.
The quality of products is not the only issue, but also how the trend cycle leads to waste and pollution. With how fast social media sites are pushing out the new must buy item, the quicker yesterdays must buy is thrown away, landing itself in an ocean, or a landfill. Even if these items are donated, they’re not guaranteed to be given a second life, especially if this trendy item was just a fad. These donated items will find themselves polluting nature, too. As these items are needed in higher demand, more carbon emissions are produced into the air from factories, and there’s more traffic on the sea and on the road, which contributes to more pollution. Not to mention, materials such as plastic and cloth are constantly being wasted on these products that will just eventually be thrown out.
Resources: https://environment.co/consumerism-and-the-environment
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
