The Latest Trend: Embracing Less

Once upon a time, social media was a medium for advertisers to entice users to buy more things and spend more money. But, a new movement on TikTok is turning the old paradigm on its head. On Tiktok, influencers with tens of thousands of followers and tags on tens of thousands of videos urge viewers to spend less, buy less, and use what they have more, The New Daily reports.

Underconsumption Core
The Conversation suggests that underconsumption core (the name of this latest TikTok-driven trend related to buying less) is an outgrowth of the minimalism movement popularized in the past by Marie Kondo. Kondo is a Japanese organizing consultant who’s trademarks includes getting rid of unneeded and unwanted items, radical minimalism, and only keeping things that “spark joy.”

“Underconsumption Core,” The New Daily explains, is a sister trend to minimalism. It means using one’s items until they are completely used up and only buying what is needed. Videos tagged as “underconsumption core” show creators cutting lotion bottles in half to get to the last drops that are too small to squeeze out. Other videos feature sneakers that are more than two-years old, torn clothing being repaired, or glass bottles washed out and reused.

The benefits of underconsumption
The Conversation points out that underconsumption may be a much needed movement both because of the financial challenges many young people face, and for reasons of sustainability. In the age of “fast fashion,” cheap, poor-quality articles are readily bought and readily discarded with dire environmental consequences. Up to 60,000 tons of discarded “fast fashion” clothing items may be littering a landfill in the Atacama desert in South America.

According to The New Daily, Australians throw out 200,000 tons of clothing items, much of it inexpensive and poor quality “fast fashion,” into landfills every year.

A study from ThredUp, an online, subscription-based used clothing shopping platform, found that nearly one third of Gen Z shoppers self-report being “addicted to fast fashion,” with up to 72 percent of respondents having done at least one fast fashion haul in 2022.  That’s despite the study finding that 65 percent of young shoppers want more sustainable fashion options.

Young people are responding positively to the underconsumption videos they consume, citing a TikTok comment on an underconsumption post that reads, “I would watch so many versions of this all the way through! It’s so cool seeing other people with similar pared-down, anti-consumption-focused routines go about their day.”

Another similar comment read , “Staying on underconsumption tiktok to motivate myself to get emotionally unattached to items.”

Criticism of underconsumption
However, not all social media users were taken with the underconsumption movement. One user commented on an underconsumption video, “Underconsumption? I think you mean what low-income people have been doing for ages,” suggesting that the movement had an elitist feel to it. 

In fact, underconsumption isn’t always correlated with saving money. Influencers sometimes use it to promote “luxury minimalism,” or spending on high-quality or brand-name items that are supposed to “last longer.”

Another critique of the movement is that some creators are using it to chase social media clout rather than make real and concrete changes to their behavior.

Radical underconsumption may also lead to unhappiness citing a study that suggests measured spending on items or experiences is actually correlated with greater happiness. 

How to under consume
For those looking to spend less, use their items more, but retain balance, The Conversation suggests being mindful about purchases and buying with intentionality. The best method is to take the middle road that allows one to value and use what they have, while not restricting oneself beyond what one’s lifestyle requires.

Additionally, improving financial literacy and setting up a budget can help shoppers figure out what form of consumption they need and can afford without undue stress.

Overall, the underconsumption movement represents a positive trend towards sustainability and away from fast fashion. It’s refreshing to see young people discuss how to make their belongings work for them instead of buying, and throwing away, more. Underconsumption is one example of social media being used to drive positive change.