Underconsumption... core
Then world continues to get their money's worth on that suffix.
Tiktok’s newest “thing that existed but required a new Internet-friendly name to re-register itself in the zeitgeist” is Underconsumption-core.
Most of us have come to know underconsumption as simply, “buying less.” The definition hasn’t really changed, like other cyclical trends/ideas, it’s really the way the message is being delivered thats shifted. It would be easy to snark on the reconfiguration of the term but as I’m writing this I’m thinking: why not let Gen Z and other Internet goers have this? Every article that begrudges the redundancy of these kinds of things is ‘Millennial-Avocado-Toasting’ them.
Anyway, I digress!
The fire under the TikTok communities’ ass to under-consume has not been sudden.
The “oh my God capitalism is breaking my back, wallet, and will to live” song has been playing for awhile. Tiktok users, specifically Gen Z have been bombarded. You know the frog in boiling water allegory? TLDR; if a frog is dropped into boiling water, it’ll jump out. If the frog is first put into lukewarm, tepid, even kind of nice-feeling water it’ll stay in there. Even if the water is slowly being turned up, thus resulting in full-blown boil.
For many of us, the early days of influencers and social media ads felt a lot like the latter. You’d see one, maybe two ads as you’d scroll— interesting but no more invasive than a commercial break. Maybe an influencer came across your page that actually felt like your friend, not a QVC sales associate.
It was easier to write off these sales-situations as less predatory, more targeted coincidence. (I love an oxymoron.)
But yeah, that’s not how it is anymore.
The Internet in all forms, social or otherwise has become a hellish Wonka tunnel of advertising. Selling you products, sure, but also lifestyles and ways of thinking.
Round the World and home again! That’s the sailor’s way!
Glass spice decanters! Matching workout sets! The coveted cloud couch! Halaria skort, Charlotte Tilbury duuuuuuuuupe!
FASTER!
Drink your greens with Bloom! Pack your Stanley with me! Have you tried the viral workout dress? Stop scrolling!
There’s no Earthly way of knowing… which direction we are going…
GRWM for another day in the life! Morning shed! Mouth tape recos! Available on TikTok Shop!
There's no knowing where we’re rowing… or which way the rivers flowing…
The end of influencers! De-influence with me! Underconsumption-core.
The Strategy Behind the Hooplah
There’s a lot of context/history that gets us here, right? In trends and strategy we use something called S.T.E.E.P. to articulate the drivers (things influencing) of a trend.
For example,
S: Social - Gen Z’s discernment of marketing is at an all-time high and they’re coming into more buying power for themselves.
T: Technological - We have more access to technology than ever— and technology has more access to us than ever. (Yikes!)
E: Environmental - Environmental concerns stay going up. Companies are changing (or being forced to change) by people and governments setting/prioritizing sustainability goals.
E: Economic - We’re sorta entering recession-land again. Finding jobs is hard, rent continues to increasing, the cost of living continues to rise. We’re responding to economic hardship on the daily.
(Sorry to pontificate, but remember 2008? Major recession. It’s when we saw the rise of upcycled furniture, DIY home decor, mason jars at weddings… you getting it?)
P: Political - General uncertainty around the election (the general 😵💫 that comes with an election year)
Factors like this go into any major movement or attitudinal shift. This is a quick and dirty example of how we got to #underconsumptioncore.
So yeah, that’s why you’re seeing romantic edits of people finishing an entire bottle of shampoo set to a Nora Jones song. We also know that TikTok loves an extreme…
For every reasonable ‘use this shampoo ‘til the bitter end!’ user, there’s someone showing their beach towel from kindergarten and makeup from 2008 (you WILL give yourself an infection, btw) and telling you you’re the problem. I’ve also seen “luxury-underconsumption” another incredible oxymoron.
The shame-factor will always exist. You’ll always have your influencers making buku dollars and cosplaying as thrifty under-spenders to stay in public favor, but what’s hopeful about this is that “normal people” are teaching other “normal people” to… “live normally.” (AKA - reasonable consumption habits.) A small but encouraging example of influencing be used for good not evil.
For example:
Conditioner you don’t like? Use it for your slicked back buns. Use it to stretch out knits in your laundry.
Shampoo? Wash your makeup brushes with it. Use it as bubble bath.
Moisturizers, serums, etc? Use it on your body.
Read a lot? Use the library!
I’ll link some videos here, here, and here. Read the comments on them for more tangible tips. And no, it’s not lost on me that this trend is driven by and near-exclusively geared toward women but that’s a conversation for another day.
It’s true. I saw this with my own eyes,
