Consumerism is the culture of buying for the sake of buying, the results of buying non-essential items in an effort to experience that temporary dopamine rush after clicking the “Add to cart” button. Watch this video essay to learn how Tik Tok and other social media platforms capitalise on this emotional response to shopping. And the way do Tik Tok users react to the abundance of promotional content on their for you page?
Author, Editor, and Reader: Jasmin
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0:00 Intro
0:26 Tik Tok Made Me Buy It
2:45 I Want It, I Got It
4:39 Amazon Storefronts
Samantha Kwait
People need to get off tik tok
Gabdongi Park
Who need a glass container for pods?
Baby Doll84
Everything on social media is about pushing products. This is how they get paid!!! We shouldn’t forget that! And we need to stop buying the stupid crap they are advertising! Most of those products are just average at best if not a bust!
Lina Jürgensen
I was addicted to buying make up online because I thought I needed products I already have. I stopped buying make up products a few weeks ago and haven’t ordered anything so far.
Joyce Chan
I thought it is because im too old for this. It is good to hear ppl also noted this. I found we actually need few things and no need to follow trends to look pretty/related.
oliviapls
Deleting tiktok has been so positive for me. I hope congress bans it. It’s so addictive and bad for people’s brains.
Therese Bonath
I will never get tiktok its something i can absolutely live without
kawaleely
if you guys go thrifting and find a shein/fast fashion product that you really like, you should still buy it. even if it's fast fashion, it's still better than using it once and tossing it into landfills.
Anjali Sharma
nobody realize even on the name of capsule wardrobe they literally influenced people buying soo many esthetics clothing, makeup infuencers are like " if u dont have this product, u r missing out" No we r not missing out, all we need to missout is this over consumption.
KawaiiKay
Well. I’m glad I’ve never been interested in makeup so adding to this mass of consumer products is not on my shopping list. And am I the only one who HASN’T signed up to the world of TikTok? I’ve SAVED MY SOUL… And saved my bank.
Audrey Elizabeth
What they don’t show when they fill all those clear containers is the extra stuff that didn’t fit in the container and now must be stored somewhere 😂 but that’s not aesthetic
S. Lowe
girl this video made me wanna go buy a couple things….
Alice
I'm all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in here for that special offer
A guaranteed personality
J
Find it frustrating that jeggings wear through between the thighs so damn fast 🙁 I get about 4-6months on average before I need to replace them, they are $25-30 a pair.
I find them much more flexible & comfortable for regular wear over jeans (I have had the same jeans for years in the past) & don’t know where I can find comfortable plus size QUALITY jeggings in Australia. Help! Lol
Jacquelyn Roe
Can we also add how TERRIBLE this is for the planet?! We will literally be DROWNING in all these Shein clothes and acrylic bins in a decade (some countries already are). Donation centers only keep a tiny fraction of what they are given, so most stuff will be trashed and shipped to a country in the global south where it will pile up in giant open-air landfills and slowly deteriorate and leak into the water supply or oceans. But, you know, glad people could get some views on TikTok 🙄 (Excellent video 💛)
Ashlisarang
Thank you for making this
Umairah Faridfaisal
To add a positive hopeful note, we shouldn't blame all of this on people individually. Sure there's accountability that needs to be done, but the kids will be alright. All of this is capitalism exploiting our innate desire to try and help other people ease their lives or are a practice in expressing identity. Beautiful things in their own right. It's sad that it has become commodified, but the kids will be alright. They'll be alright if we keep talking and having these conversations, introducing seeds of thought for those new to the idea and watering it further for people who have an inkling. Once the kids learn, once we learn and continuously keep on learning, we'll be alright. Exchanging our sense of inferiority with contentment maybe. Curating our feeds and having conversations among friends and family about this is the first step. The only step practical for us maybe, but humanity isn't inherently evil and/or doomed my dear. We are worth saving.
Umairah Faridfaisal
Adding to the fact, there's something eerie about how gendered the market is. All of the wellness, beauty, fashion trends tend to skew at marketing towards women and AFABs. There's something sinister, must be, behind all of this. Dystopian even. The high expectations on women and AFAB bodies, the expectations to overcome and go beyond to fit a mold of societal acceptance is already intrinsic in patriarchal culture, but magnified in the hyper-reality capitalism made for us. Why does it feel like all the marketing targeted towards men and AMABs feel less so? There's still a market for fast fashion sure, but there's a general sense of value in having something that lasts. I don't know where I'm going with this or even how to fix it, and I'm not trying to imply men's sense of control is better than women (it is not, it's just that women were raised in a cult of beauty worsened by the profit motive), but there has to be a reason behind the difference no?
vinna!!!
As someone who has a horrible money management (due to my adhd) and uses retail therapy as a coping mechanism— i’m grateful i lowered my viewing on tiktok to the point where i never really go on it now. I find myself not spending as much money and not WANTING to spend money on items TikTok reccomends on my fyp (such as different stationary etc im on kpop top loader TikTok) and more or so spending money on stuff which makes me happy. I never go on TikTok anymore.
M
Safie C
I've seen hauls since 2009, and I am done, honestly. I got over the need of buying compulsively, but it's hard. I guess for new generations is way harder, since there's ads EVERYWHERE
why
I appreciate that this video is shorter. I like video essays but sometimes i dont have the time to sit down for 1-3 hours. I wish more creators would realize that video essays can be shorter like this too and still get to the point well
M
I feel like this video is still an ad for buying products…I dislike social media for this reason even more.
BAALBUB
"A walk in the park is free, guys"
SOMEONE SAID IT GUYS!!!
FINALLY!!!
TSeamus828
Well thank God im not easily influenced and don't use tiktok lol
Marinowy
4:57 not the purpose of this video at all…but these glass straws with small turtles are IT!!!😂
Lea Phan
I found this to be a sobering video of the unfortunate impact of social media and consumerism. A lot of people are buying a lot for cheap instead of buying things to last, even if that means only four skirts or two pairs of jeans.
I also think people need to learn how to do basic hand sewing so they can take care of their clothes regardless of quality. If you can’t buy a $50/$70 shirt, it’s OK to get a cheaper one. Just learn how to take care of it if a stitch pops or there’s a tear.
I pray everyone here to have their hearts on what matters most and to grow in wisdom. Have a blessed day/night ✝️💙
wc koshka
🙏 amen
a
"Ideology" is such an apt term here.
ARCIE
Seeing a bunch of video essays about this topic combined with how critical my family was with my spending habits when I was younger made me become stingy 😭😭😭. Everytime I look at a product, I really have to sit there for 4 minutes at a store and ask myself if I need a luxury $4 lip balm 😭
Kaja Capi
Amazing video I never buy products because I like packaging because I know 99.9% of what I'm paying is packaging and marketing and qualty is usually comparable to $5 drugstore products so you'll never convince me to buy luxury makeup or skincare or hair care Also Michaela she looks so fking disgusting with all that filler
Lady Kadiijha
I really like your channel
Shannon Alanna
We need to talk about this more ☝🏻 no reason for anyone to buy all this stuff that social media promotes. Consumerism these days is insane
Kelly Nicole
Am I the only one that doesn’t have a problem with “cheap” clothing? If you take care of your clothing it lasts a long time… I have peices from SHEIN I got years ago
sab
all gen z do is charge they phone, eat hot chip, be unaware of hyper consumerism, experience mass hysteria on an everyday basis, be bisexual, and lie
Holly
Aren’t gen Z supposed to be the environmentalists??
Rebecca Ko
Idc what anyone says the laneige sleeping mask is literally the best and they last forever, it took me an year and a half to finish the travel size and i used it twice a day as lip balm and gloss
TOSHA'S TAVERN
Well executed essay. You have to ask yourself when is enough going to be enough?
Maria Guillen
i deleted tiktok 2 days ago and honestly today is the first day in MONTHS that i haven’t felt crazy overstimulated within an hour of waking up
Rosario Adriana Candelero Rueda
Producing too much trash for clothes that don't survive a first wash
KiaraCodes
I really wanted to watch this but that typing sound triggered my misophonia so badly
Makeup & Thoughts
It's not just on tik tok , it is still very much alive on youtube , facebook and instagram …
There's a overconsumption problem everywhere tbh …