What if…overconsumption stopped being promoted?
Why Stanley cups are bad for us, or why overconsumption promotions are getting out of hand...
One dull evening, I was scrolling through TikTok when I came across a video of an influencer using a single-use plastic bottle to fill their Stanley flask with water. “What is the point then?”, I thought to myself. This, in my opinion, was the pinnacle of social media marketing gone wrong, when you are endorsing the brand rather than the goods themselves. I still find it difficult to understand how the Stanley bottle differs from Hydro Flasks, which were popular during 2020, or any other water bottles. In just a few years, Stanley's yearly sales have increased from $75 million to $750 million. Sales of the bottles increased immediately after they became viral on TikTok, and brand-related hashtags received over one million views overall. Stanley has in some way turned into a social currency and a heavily pushed online inclusion, and it's not okay…
Indeed, a lot of our shopping right now happen online; marketplaces have made it easier for us. Growing up, younger generations like Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha are becoming the primary users of social media content. Social media platforms like TikTok have a great deal of power on individuals in the digital era when it comes to online product and business promotion, as well as influencing user’s opinions on fashion trends. But great power also comes with great responsibility, especially when promoting overconsumption in its content and pushing consumerism among children and teenagers. Trends, hauls, and unboxing videos are examples of content that influences children's perceptions of both themselves and the world around them. But what would happen if social media stopped encouraging excessive consumption?
Impact on children
The main issue is that social networks have ingrained themselves into our lives—including the lives of children—and there is little we can do about it. Kids are becoming accustomed to the constant exposure to internet content as they grow older. “Since they grew up in a setting where there was constantly a lot of material, today's kids are really harder to raise in this regard. They lessen their filter and demand its intake”. Yana Komarova, a former educational psychologist, says. According to Ofcom report at children media use, “Nine in ten children aged 12-17 were confident that they could recognise advertising online”. However, 42% of them were still certain that influencers only advocate for goods they actually love. “Children do not think as deeply as adults do; new items and outfits just have an emotional significance for them. Children's shopping for toys or clothes releases free, quick serotonin—the same kind of serotonin they release when they watch videos on TikTok”, says Yana. Due to age, they don’t think about consequences of excessive consumerism that can impact the environment and their future lives.
People's attention spans are gradually getting shorter to 15–30 second videos as a result of the rapid and easy availability to social media material that has fueled the rise of clip culture. Some have dubbed TikTok videos as a new kind of digital gambling or as "digital crack cocaine." Our brain becomes accustomed to the rapid and easy serotonin that these videos may supply, making it more difficult to obtain this serotonin from longer-term pursuits, like watching films. Time compression is only one example of how digital technologies surely affect the way our minds work. Plus, it gets worse when young brains are still growing. According to Komarova, "children who are not initially neurodivergent develop symptoms of ADHD due to excessive consumption of social media content from an early age. Children grow up with the expectation that all content should be bright and quick. Moreover, they still do not understand what they consume, this is the main problem”.
Impact on the environment
In case you're wondering how serious the overconsumption issue is, UNICEF has shown that if everyone consumed at the same rate as the United States, resources equivalent to five planets would be needed. Overproduction and overconsumption have an overall, worldwide influence on our environment. Not only does it impact pollution and global warming, but it also depletes the life support systems of our planet. It is now the main cause of the ecological crisis. According to the data presented by World Health Organisation, 24% of global deaths are linked to the environmental hazards. The prevalence of dangerous chemicals in food and common goods, rising air pollution, and an increase in waste can all be linked to the rise in illnesses including cancer, asthma, and autoimmune disorders.
Consequently, TikTok directly affects consumption levels. Social media's rise has accelerated the pace of fast fashion, with trends shifting more often than with each passing season. Big businesses like Amazon, Asos, SHEIN, and others create and promote micro-trends and popular aesthetics. These brands, whose products are mass produced and sold at low prices, do not guarantee ecological production and are thought to have a significant negative influence on the environment due to their low-cost manufacture techniques and massive waste output. Not to mention the terrible working conditions and poor pay they offer their employees.
Thoughtful consumption should become an integral part of our lives, especially in the face of subliminal social media advertising. The vice president of the Oxford Brookes community encourages students to diversify their free time in order to reduce stress: "Social media content can increase yours anxiety, so it shouldn't be viewed as leisure activity of any sort. Visit our nearby charity stores if you'd like to go shopping! It's a practical and creative way to get new clothes, and it's also entertaining to look for things”. The primary issue is that children now are just as much participants in this capitalist economy as adults. They are nonetheless the primary targets of the majority of internet marketing initiatives despite being dependant on their parents sources of revenue. And their minds are still those of children. A small percentage of children actually comprehend the true worth of material objects.