Overconsumption, which is defined as “consuming more than necessary,” is taking over our wallets, minds and personal self-esteem. Because of the simplicity of online shopping and endless exposure to advertising and new products, it isn’t hard to keep clicking “Add to Cart.” What used to be an occasional luxury is now becoming a harmful daily habit.
Scrolling through social media no longer means catching up with friends. Instead, every post is a subconscious advertisement. Some influencers create their entire brand off of haul videos and Amazon storefronts, making shopping their brand and identity while pushing certain items as the key to social validation.
New outfits, shoes and jewelry are all marketed as necessities, and the influencers promoting them are polished and pretty with seemingly perfect feeds. Companies use influencer marketing to make it seem like we are one small purchase away from becoming them.
Endorsements from influencers can increase willingness to buy a product by 50%. Social media marketing is linked to overconsumption and opens the door to frequent impulse buying. Linking social media and consumption in this way opens a door directly to overconsuming and impulse buying.
Most of the time, I’m able to tell myself I don’t need the newest thing. I can wait until my soles give out to buy a new pair of shoes. However, not every viewer of this content has this same type of self-control, making it the source that influencers and brands depend on. Algorithms only make this worse, analyzing every search and interaction. It pushes an “idealized lifestyle” content to users, cashing in on vulnerable audiences who believe consumption correlates with happiness.
Owning certain items is seen as a status symbol. Last year, an elementary school student was bullied for not owning a $40 Stanley tumbler. Her classmates ridiculed her for having a fake one. Overconsumption is showing us that to “fit in,” you have to own specific items, which can hurt mental health and self-esteem. You are worth more than your clothes and makeup.
New features, such as TikTok Shop, allow creators to link products directly to their videos and accounts. Creators will get a share of the profit if users purchase an item directly from their storefront. Linking social media and shopping in this way opens a door directly to overconsuming by blurring the line between desire and purchase. You don’t have to exit the app or get up to grab your debit card. Instead, swipe over to TikTok Shop and double-tap your power button to use Apple Pay.
Overconsumption is more than an excessive amount of stuff. It traps people in a cycle of debt to keep up with a lifestyle based on material items. Popular “buy now, pay later” services like Klarna and Afterpay make overconsumption far easier, but 30% of users say they struggle to make their payments, and 45% use these services to make payments far out of their budgets.
There are also the environmental impacts, creating an excess of waste on our planet. The fashion industry, fueled by social media and its trends, creates more than 92 million tons of waste each year. Most clothes being sold on sites like TikTok Shop and Shein are polyester, which is not biodegradable.
This culture has a name on TikTok: “overconsumption core.” Users are vulnerable enough to share the excess of items they own, saying they feel disgust and guilt about their purchases. Overconsumption isn’t about needing something or even liking it. It’s about proving you can have more.
However, there is some hope. Trends like “Project Pan,” where users challenge themselves to finish a makeup or skincare product before buying a new one, promote ethical shopping practices. Others are participating in “deinfluencing,” where they share their honest experiences about a popular product, calling out what is overhyped and overpriced. These trends are small but gaining traction, helping viewers not to fall into social media’s consumerism trap.
Social media has turned shopping into a personality trait and a competition with winners and losers. This mindset is wasteful, costly and harmful to our self-esteem. Who we are should not be reduced to what we own.
Abby Shriver is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Abby about their column? Email them at as064024@ohio.edu
