If you walk into a coffee shop in Brooklyn, Berlin or Bangkok, you’re probably going to witness the same interiors, with the same “limited-edition” merch and filled with people wearing the same “trending” silhouettes. On the surface, it can be excused as global connectivity, cultures shaping realities. However, this illusion is the byproduct of a digital machine that has turned human individuality into a warehouse of mass-produced aesthetics. Every scroll, every ding of your notifications is yelling at you to conform and consume.
The result? A world where we live in two realities: planet and phone. The more we listen to the phone and buy non-biodegradable and unsustainable items, the more we abuse this planet. The purpose of this piece is to ask you not to let the influence of the made-up world destroy your real one.
Since the dawn of social media, it has been an outlet for self-expression, allowing people to build careers and lives out of passion projects and hobbies. Evolution, however, comes for us all, and its latest victim, social media, is no exception. The algorithm has become a high-speed factory of mimicry from the creative platform it used to be. It rewards the familiar, fast-paced dopamine hits. It influences consumers to wear, do and say the same thing. Whether it’s a hair-styling tool, a phone case, a lip gloss or a miracle supplement, we now consume products not because we need them, or even because we particularly like them but because they serve as the entry fee for a specific social identity. We don’t have a personal style anymore; we have “coquette,” “corporate siren” or “quiet luxury.” These are pre-packaged identities that you can purchase in a single shopping session.
To break this cycle, a revolution needs to occur. In a world obsessed with more and more, less is radical. Underconsumption isn’t poverty but autonomy, refusing to bend to the will of the marketing gods. The choice not to consume allows you to find who you actually are. You rediscover your own taste without some influencer’s Amazon wish list. You value quality, care and longevity over fast-fashion items from the TikTok shop. You reclaim your own precious time by forgoing the shopping, unboxing, organizing, discarding and working more hours to pay for it all. Underconsumption doesn’t just save your world outside but on the inside too.
To apply such a drastic change to your lifestyle, you need to acknowledge the fact that it is tough to break free from the norm. You will feel like you are denying yourself everything and that the rewards aren’t as worth it compared to the short-term joy of retail therapy. But stick with it. Try any of the following, but do your best to stick with it:
- Do a 30-day no-buy challenge:
- Delete all your unnecessary promotional emails and unsubscribe from businesses — basically, a full digital detox.
- Follow this by making a list of your inventory. Allow yourself to get reacquainted with what you have. Play with old makeup, put on a t-shirt you bought in 2022; just see what you have and what you can do with it.
- Fix something you already have. Stitch a shirt or mend a shoe, and rediscover the appreciation you once had for it.
- When the urge to shop hits, pause. Wait 48 hours. Ask yourself, why do you want it? Is it solving a problem you have? Can you live without it?
- Recycling challenge:
- Every week, for a quarter of the year, find waste you would like to recycle rather than discard. Make a junk journal from old plastic take-out containers, paint with your old makeup. Unleash your creativity and save the planet, too.
- Build a syllabus for yourself
- Make a list of books you must read, find time to write an article or fill your time enjoying and rediscovering talents to find joy in the mundane.
Just remember, underconsumption is the ultimate status symbol. The real Carolyn Bessette Kennedy would never buy Calvin Klein because she saw it on TV. Saying no to marketing sends a clear message: “I am so secure in who I am that I don’t need a logo or a trend to speak for me.”