Tik Tok’s Overconsumption Problem

Those of us that only lived through the YouTube makeup era, are burnt out at this point. We went minimalist, found out what works and I haven’t put a foot in Sephora or Ulta in ages.

I hate it when they frame it as "self love/care" to buy excessive amount of home decore and other useless stuff which will be thrown out at least a year later.

a large reason why I deleted tiktok recently is because of the overconsumption problem. I have a spending problem, and a large reason for it is tiktokers telling me to buy things I don't need, so ultimately, I decided to delete the app for my own good. It's been a couple weeks, and I already stopped spending as much. I'm glad we're finally talking about this. Also, idk if you guys have heard of the "de-influencing" trend. It's just as much bullshit as these because, at the end of the day, it's a random influencer telling us what to buy and what not to buy. Make sure you're buying something that you'll need and that you'll use, and make sure that you're buying it for your own enjoyment💕

I'm so glad we are all talking about this more

It's also negatively impacting thrift stores. I used to be able to find great quality pieces that would last me 10+ years, now I find tons of shein, fashionnova, and other cheaply made clothing pieces. These pieces also seem to last only a couple washes before they come apart even with brand new tags on them. At least when I was in school the fast fashion brands that were popular then (American eagle, A&F, Aeropostale, old VS, buckle, and others) have still held up as I find them occasionally in thrift store 10+ years later in great condition.

a not as mentioned overconsumption issue is on the BOOK side of tiktok/youtube. while it's in no way a modern thing [previously a show of excessive wealth] it's definitely getting more normalized for people to own/want to own over a thousand books just to show off and barely 30% will have been read over the years. I'm guilty of buying books I probably won't read but I only own a small bookshelf full.

I’m still baffled by people buying clothes that they only plan to wear for a month or so, most of the clothing in my closet is a decade old and is going nowhere soon.

I'm a big fan of video essays and at first I thought "not even 7 minutes long?" but it was just perfect! Video essays get longer and longer (sometimes 3 hours) and that's just too much. That was really refreshing and I will definitely keep an eye on your account :)

ya the corner of tiktok that infuriates me the most is the $100+ shein hauls. like we have all learned about the horrible working conditions for shein and also how fast these clothes end up in landfills and yet people still spend so much money there

My father always warned me about manipulations that these brands do. And I am so glad he did because as a 19 year old, I see everyone around me having these buy and throw type of approach. Yes, I might have less clothes than my friends but my clothes are timeless staples and last me years with minimum harm towards the environment and most importantly they are what I need.

I have noticed the overconsumption problem on Tik Tok has blead into more then just products. I take in all the influence from relationship advice, family toxicity, clothes etc. It is just constant information being thrown at you every 30 seconds- I think our brains are becoming over stimulated. It has started to affect my relationship as it makes me question everything- and overthink what is a red flag, if he is truly the one etc. I have noticed even on YouTube I can struggle watching a video without skipping through some parts to get to the point. I don't think it is good for our mental health AT ALL.

I was born in a poor family, which from the get go taught me to be very careful with my money. Money comes and goes, but the consumerism has gone overboard.

This is one of the main reasons I hate tiktok. It’s just like watching endless ads. Beauty hauls, makeup tutorials and fashion content— you’re just incessantly bombarded with ads. Even when someone isn’t being paid and they’re just buying things with their own money it’s still basically an ad. I barely go on tiktok. Even self care has been commodified— it’s insane. Buying shit will not make you happy. Idk maybe it’s because I’m a millennial who grew up in the underground anarcho punk scene when the 2008 financial crisis was happening but I can’t stand this type of content. It makes me feel sick just thinking about the environmental and financial impact not to mention the massive profits amassed by huge corporations.

The more you buy, the more stuff you have to take care of and the more stress you'll have, so it's actually the opposite of self care 😅

It's not a TikTok thing, it's a social media thing.

History is repeating itself, it used to happen on YouTube a lot, it's happening on TikTok to younger generations (and not only to them) and it will happen over and over again on other platforms. I remember the issues that I had because of this phenomenon on YouTube in the 2010s which resulted in me doing a no-buy in 2019 to rescue my financial situation and my mental health. Ultimately, that experience changed my life and I'm glad I was able to learn so much about myself thanks to it.

One of the biggest things I noticed once I stopped over consuming is that I actually got to discover what I really like and what I don’t once I started wearing/using things I already own more often and appreciate it instead of seeing it as a number.

I'm so glad this was in my recommendations because I've been talking about this for so long. I've always struggled with overspending and hoarding with my OCD/ADHD and depression. It preys on mentally ill people so much. But not just that but it preys on so many different types of people. I always see comments about people making fun of how they were "into cottagecore and mushrooms" in 2020 and it's like- that was 3 years ago. 3! years ago! People say that hot topic is stuck in 2020!! It's insane. I'm tired of trends and fast fashion and no one ever talks about this and if you do people think you're crazy. The rise of "aesthetics" have also brought on constant changing trends and having your own aesthetic is normal but calling everything x-core and it becoming a trend where fast fashion companies make fashion for it so quickly and then 5 months later no one wants to be apart of it is bleh. I really do think we should gatekeep more too. This also reminds me of the whole squishmallow ordeal among other cute items. AND RESELLERS with that sort of thing too. Things like squishmallow, and build a bears get sold out so quickly. I could go on a rant about this. I just think we need to gatekeep more like you said.

I don’t use tik tok but I see some on reels- I personally hate the re-packaging of food just for aesthetics. How do you keep track of expiration dates??? I’d go crazy. I couldn’t trust them to not feed me something bad

Luckily, I find myself turned off by a lot of these ads and huge hauls, I don't "need" this large selection of disposable plastic stuff from Amazon and being told I do feels insulting tbh. I don't mind reviews because I usually like to buy makeup in person or I cross reference multiple sources to see if a product is good. And I'm very particular about clothes and accessories, I'm not interested in a bunch of junk from shein when I could go to local consignment stores to overspend on designer shoes for 90% off retail.