Tired of Influencers, TikTok Users Try ‘Underconsumption Core’ to Cut Costs
Tired of Influencers, TikTok Users Try ‘Underconsumption Core’ to Cut Costs
The trend of “underconsumption core” romanticizes buying and using only what you need. Yes, being normal is now trending. Experts say it’s a response to a period of economic hardship.
I get that they want to contrast this with overconsumption, but phrasing it as underconsumption makes it sound like there's some baseline level of consumption that they're not adhering to, when in fact living within your means and buying only what you need and will use should be the baseline level of consumption (if such a thing should even be considered to exist).
Advertisers hate this one weird trick!
Big minimalism is trying to sell you more less
Man, I'm old enough to remember when consumption was a disease.
The irony is that the most popular “underconsumption” influencers will start getting brand deals
Underconsumption eventually morphs into so-called "buy it for life" product promotion.
With what? They don't advertise stuff and often show how to acquire things for free - eg cutting eyes off potatoes to grow yourself, getting seeds from local libraries, etc. Businesses aren't likely to pay for something that will also cost them money.
I completely agree that a base of people who are looking to do things for free or cheap will have a harder time with brand deals for goods for sure. That’s why I use PDS debt. It helps me better understand where I’m spending money and how I can cut costs.
I’m sure there’s a crossover too. There’s also clothing exchanges like Freestyle (in my area) that have a large presence that I could see advertising through influencers. Even though they’re trying to “consume less” they still are a market. They just might not be as likely to spend more openly.
I think anything that suits this movement including Zero Waste products, other B Corps. One of the influencers in this article is a “sustainable fashion” influencer. What the fuck is sustainable fashion? I’m being intentionally obtuse here, like obviously sustainable fashion (thrifting, repurposing, etc) is better than supporting the wasteful slave industry of fast fashion, but I can’t help but see an article like this and say… we’ve been here before, yet here we are. I am, also, one of these people too, reducing consumption, trying to be zero waste, no-buy, etc, I just have seen how capitalism makes even anti-capitalism a profit motive.
Consumer spending has been out of control since the pandemic.
