It is a day after Halloween and shelves are already overflowing with merchandise for Christmas. Clothing racks are filled to the point where it is impossible to even look through them and the sheer amount of merchandise makes walking down the aisles a disaster. Shoppers’ carts are full of items but somehow, the amount of stuff to buy only increases. Worst of all, consumer culture has gotten to a point where this behavior is considered ‘normal’. Overconsumption has completely gotten out of hand thanks to the rise of microtrends and instant gratification through social media.
Social media and the internet has allowed information to spread rapidly, causing trends to circulate much faster as a result. The rise of microtrends and viral products promote impulse buying, and once these items are no longer trendy, they end up in landfills of third world countries. The constant need for the next new thing has been normalized and has led to people wasting perfectly good products. This behavior drives fast-fashion companies to produce cheaply made clothes that are not made to last, fueling ‘throwaway culture’ and ultimately contributing to the cycle of fast fashion and overconsumption. People receive Amazon packages in the mail and don’t know what’s inside because they can’t even remember what they bought. This is absurd and proves that people don’t really need everything they buy.
Instant gratification releases a quick hit of dopamine, which the brain likes and wants more of. Social media encourages instant gratification with ten second videos that cause endless scrolling. Reinforcement of this behavior through social media drives users to make impulse buys in order to receive the dopamine hit. However, this rush of dopamine is temporary and often habit-forming. The hedonic treadmill is a psychological concept that demonstrates this. It suggests happiness levels return to baseline very quickly after periods of increased or decreased happiness, and people need something new to increase their levels of happiness again. This is directly seen in impulse spending after a purchase has been made. Shopping is not a sustainable way to maintain happiness the same way it is not sustainable for the environment. People need to find more fulfillment in their lives through meaningful activities such as traveling, learning an instrument or finding a hobby–not through shopping.
Though microtrends, instant gratification and social pressures are driving forces in overconsumption, it’s hard for people to suddenly begin consuming less when economic prosperity largely depends on consumerism. Marketing strategies like Black Friday sales create an environment where it is very easy to fall into systems that promote overconsumption. However, the cycle starts with the consumer and businesses will not stop producing if shoppers do not stop consuming. If people continue to spend without thinking about long-term effects, the world will eventually face the consequences.
