28.07.2024. / 13:06
NEW YORK – Skin care in 10 steps with 20 different products, fashion trends that change at the speed of light, seven household appliances that do the same job, but we should all have them – all this is presented to us by influencers on social networks explaining why we should buy the very products they advertise and for which they receive serious fees from sponsors.
Photo: Pixabay
A new trend developing among young people, especially on TikTok, is the complete opposite of that. Neither the influencers will like it, nor everyone who convinces us that the more we buy, the happier we will be.
Because there is a growing number of content creators who show that they wear slippers from high school because they are still in good condition, one purse for the city, they have a cosmetic kit with four products, as opposed to influencers who show us makeup cases that they cannot use up in five years.
They record furniture bought in second-hand stores, vintage clothes, they say that they wear old t-shirts as pajamas, they don’t throw away glass jars but use them for storage, they don’t buy perfumes until they use up the ones they currently have.
Less is more in this trend – less kitchen appliances, bathroom decorations, clothes, make-up, even buying new books, instead of which it is suggested to go to the library.
The trend has affected all areas, just as excessive consumption, which inspired it, has spread everywhere like a virus.
Under the hashtag “core underconsumption,” users now promote conscientious consumption, prioritize quality over quantity, and encourage followers to appreciate things instead of collecting them.
“TikTok has turned almost everything into an opportunity for consumerism, even going for a walk has become a shopping experience,” said writer Lora Capon.
This is exactly what the advocates of the new trend discovered, some of whom, by their own admission, bought too much and described this constant race to buy new, prettier and better, as exhausting. Now they speak up, feel liberated, and remind followers that they don’t have to buy a million products to feel beautiful.
While some call this trend minimal consumption, others claim that it is normal consumption.
However, the movement argues that there is no need to buy something new if what you already have works perfectly. As financial experts explain, the movement is partly a product of inflation.
Bank of America President of Retail Banking Holly O’Neill noted to Fortune that Generation Z in particular has been very vocal in their struggle to afford basic needs amid general price increases.
“You don’t want to throw away something you’ve already invested in or bought; you want to optimize it. This has both a budgetary and sustainability impact. We all know the satisfaction of using everything you buy instead of throwing it away, and Generation Z is very much in tune with that. They feel the high cost of living. They know they have to find ways to cut costs,” she concluded. eGateway
Source: www.capital.ba
