I care deeply about environmental conservation, but I have a secret: I’m a sucker for those fridge organization videos on TikTok. There’s just something about the sight of everyday groceries neatly packed in aesthetic containers that tickles my happiness neurons. I love these videos so much that, from time to time, I find myself on the storefront of whatever restock influencer crossed my feed that day, drooling over pages and pages of fridge containers I don’t need and can’t afford.
But when I take a step back to really think about it, I realize how absurd that is. Why do I care about the aesthetic of my refrigerator, a space no one will see but me? And why do I feel like the only way for my fridge to be “organized” is with a mountain of plastic storage containers? There’s something to be said about the value of organization, absolutely. But I don’t think that’s what this is. In reality, I’ve been “influenced,” a term which here means that the social media fridge-influencers I hate to watch have subconsciously made me believe that the only way for me to have a clean, organized fridge is through the products listed in their affiliate links. This phenomenon repeats itself over and over again in every space online, and it’s known as “TikTok Made Me Buy It.”
Just five years ago, trends tended to follow a 20-year cycle. Today, the cycle has shrunk to between five and ten years, thanks to the growing influence of social media. The rise of platforms like TikTok has accelerated the speed at which products and styles come in and out of fashion, leading to the emergence of ‘microtrends.’ TikTok, with its fast-paced video algorithm, is notorious for fueling the cycle of microtrends in everything from clothing to skincare to themed baths and, you guessed it, refrigerator organization.Â
The platform has even cultivated microtrends of microtrends, such as the viral Stanley tray, Stanley bag, and Stanley drink divider. Product “must-have” videos on the platform rarely contain necessities; “restock-Tok” and “organization-Tok” are extremely popular categories that garner thousands of views every month; and fast-fashion “clothing hauls” feature years’ worth of clothes, most of which will end up in a landfill. However, most concerningly, of people who reported being heavily influenced by social media in their buying habits, 41% cited TikTok Shop as their platform of choice.
My point is that though it may be tempting, we must step away from the constant overconsumption that social media platforms like TikTok encourage as much as possible. Chasing the never-ending cycle of what’s trendy is an impossible task. Before buying something, I would consider the following questions: Do you need it? How often will you use it in a month? Can you afford to buy it twice? Will it make you happy beyond the high of the initial purchase? And finally, what will you do with it at the end of its usable life? By answering these questions, you can help save yourself from impulse purchases and conserve the environment.