To be “rich,” in today’s society means different things to different people. If you asked my parents, they’d say being rich means owning a home, a car and having healthy savings. I’d plump for living in an apartment in the city centre, going to Pilates in head-to-toe Lululemon and three Europe trips a year. Home ownership would be the dream, but have you seen this economy? My younger sister would need little more than a glance at an Instagram profile to judge “richness”. Today, we live in a consumer society wherein an axiomatic economic goal is to be able to buy whatever you want. Our identity is based on the things we have. Being rich or poor is subjective, based on our consumption in comparison to our peers and the people we idolise online.
I have seen social media sites stretch every marketing boundary to get young people to spend more. The clean girl, old money and range rover mom aesthetics dominate Instagram and TikTok. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the TikTok vocab: a mob wife aesthetic, think fur coats and Prada sunglasses. Range rover mom: think the Lululemon Define jacket (£108) and Nulu flared leggings (£108), driving a…you guessed it, Range Rover to pick her kids up from school after her morning Pilates and lunch with her girlfriends. Her husband works in finance, and she’s never paid a house bill. If this wasn’t enough classification and market choice, we have also started marketing seasons. For example, the Euro summer trend, revolving around the “old money aesthetic,” very Sofia Richie Grange, quiet luxury, apart from your Instagram stories which should be anything but quiet. Or “Barbenheimer,” summer, a season marked by the hit movies Oppenheimer and Barbie.
Just for some clarity, so far we’ve had hot girl summer, Barbenheimer summer, euro summer and brat summer. And we’ve had the corporate, mob wife, Range Rover mom, Pilates princess, vanilla girl, coastal granddaughter, y2k, clean girl, old money, coquette, dark academia, cottagecore and downtown girl aesthetics. In fact, I’m sure I’ve missed a couple. Are you tired yet? I know I am.
The common thread behind these summer labels and aesthetics, is that they all encourage you to spend your money.
Now I am in no way suggesting that we have no agency, that we are a society so brainless and spineless that we blindly follow social trends. But on some level, we have all done this. We’ve all screenshotted products from our favourite influencers and we’ve all felt that feeling of missing out when there’s a viral product you cannot buy or a summer trend you’re not a part of. We all want to be part of this bubble of coolness and belonging. No one wants to be the odd one out.
You can make the argument that these labels and aesthetics are a bit of fun. However, there is no denying they are also strategies to profit off young people who are more impressionable, chronically online, and susceptible to social pressure.
Still in denial about the consumer cost? Let’s look at the facts. Forrester’s August 2023 Consumer Pulse Survey asked those who participated in back-to-school shopping this year a series of questions. Their findings concluded that 57% discovered new products to buy from social media, 52% purchased products they found from social media and 46% bought directly from an ad they saw on social media.” Social media is the place where people are encouraged to consume both implicitly - through trendy products used by influencers and explicitly - through direct advertisements.
This culture means that our self-worth and identity is directly tied to what we buy. That’s simply not sustainable. It’s a house of cards. Today, society is engaged in “competitive consumption,” where “we spend because we’re comparing ourselves with our peers and what they’re spending.” And if you need evidence of this, just think about how much “better,” or “cooler,” you feel when your friend compliments your Stanley cup or Summer Fridays lip balm, or the rush you get when you open a clothing package. Consumption has become synonymous with self-worth, confidence, power, liberty, and social capital. Being “you,” includes fitting into a certain “aesthetic,” living in a certain “era,” and having “xyz” products.
Being part consumerism culture also has financial implications. Most people do not generate the income to keep up and are faced with two choices: get another job or get into debt. Most go for the latter. After all, with one click of Klarna or Clearpay, or your credit card, boom! Your new package is on its way and you can release a sigh of relief. Never mind that next week a new makeup product or clothing item will be trending. The rise of fintech platforms like Clearpay and Klarna having options to delay the payment of an item by a month or spread costs over weeks promotes irresponsible and unsustainable spending. The ease with which we can buy anything, normalisation of debt and emphasis on immediate gratification, coupled with a culture that prioritises consumption and an aesthetic Instagram feed, are dangerous combinations that can have far reaching consequences for one’s personal finances.
I believe that, if we are not careful, we can let this world of hyper consumerism spin us out of control, both mentally and financially. Half of American households today are unable to pay off their monthly balance and carry on average of £5292 into the next month. Debt and living paycheque to paycheque to live extravagant lifestyles have become normalised. And the sad reality is, it will never be enough. In a few months, you probably won’t even remember the purchases that you’re still paying for.
Image: Flickr/Solen Feyisa
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Oh wow, I didn't know much about this issue but this sums it up brilliantly!