Social media has opened the door of opportunity to many, progressing to the point where becoming a large enough creator on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram can even become a person’s job. Those who dedicate their life to social media are called influencers, and they do exactly what their name would imply: influence. That is a great power, often used incorrectly. Although social media influencers have the potential to make a positive impact on the world due to the size of their platform and followings, they can also contribute to other more negative issues, such as consumerism.
Around a year ago, TikTok launched their so-called TikTok Shop. However, even in this short time frame, it has soared in sales and popularity. The Shop sells almost anything imaginable, from clothing items to refurbished electronics. As of January of 2024, according to a Bloomberg article, “TikTok was last year on track to amass around $20 billion in global gross merchandise value.”
One of the main reasons for its success is because of its promotions and marketing, as products sold on TikTok Shop are advertised and popularized by influencers. But this practice is not restricted to products sold on TikTok Shop; influencers serve as potential tools for any brand or company desiring to publicize their products. They pay influencers and social media creators based on how many customers they have successfully attracted, causing the massive number of product reviews and recommendations visible on almost any social media platform in recent years.
All of this has caused consumerism to skyrocket. Thousands of brands are paying influencers to advertise their products, with their viewers falling prey to this marketing scheme, buying products to be “cool” just like the creators that they look up to. “I feel as though social media influences my thoughts to the extent that I feel like I need a product even when I really don’t like it that much. Uggs, for example,” college sophomore Tessy Adamu said.
Thanks to TikTok, owning multiple of the same products is now considered normal, rather than owning just one. Buying several of the same products, even when not needed, is a waste of money that could have been spent on actual necessities or other items. The problem itself is not the sponsoring, but rather the normalization of over-consuming when most people are unable to afford that lifestyle. It is, above all, unsustainable.
Influencer Marlena Velez is the perfect example of how this standard can be harmful. She was caught shoplifting at her local Target, stealing clothes and household items that would have cost around $500. She did this just to post a video of her alleged outing to TJ Maxx and Target. The reason why she did is most likely because she couldn’t afford it, yet as an influencer, she might have felt pressured to fake the lifestyle most influencers portray on their social media pages to deceive her thousands of followers.
And, should one of her followers decide to follow in her steps and produce this same type of content, the cycle would only continue. Although sponsoring brands is a job, consumerism should not be normalized. It leads to people comparing themselves to these influencers while a majority of the population –at least in the U.S.– remains unable to afford such a shamelessly wasteful lifestyle. In some extreme cases, such as Velez’s, misguided people feel this over-consumption to be so desirous that they would go so far as to commit a crime in order to live up to this ideal.
Article Written by Sabrina Solares
Graphic courtesy of Pexels