By: Emory Waye, Contributing Writer
Graphic By: Emory Waye

In the midst of the holiday season, many people are busy running back and forth to the store, snatching up the best deals, and waiting on Amazon packages to be delivered to their doorstep. Gift-giving is a love language for many people, so providing a magical Christmas experience for children, friends, and loved ones can feel critical. Many consider this time to be the “season of giving.” Throughout the year, and especially now, I can’t help but think about why we like the things that we like. Of all the goodies we put on our Christmas lists—the clothes, gadgets, skin and hair products, shoes, water bottles, decor, etc.—why do we like and want these things? 

In the past few years, I have noticed an exceptional rise in consumerist shopping based on trends. I see more and more people buying viral products, such as Stanley cups, certain makeup brands like Drunk Elephant, Lululemon athleisure, Rare Beauty blush, Summer Fridays lip balm, Sol de Janeiro body spray, any ribbon/bow decor, and many more items. Nowadays, it’s harder to find someone that doesn’t own a popular item than it is to find someone who does. Many of the people I encounter on a day-to-day basis have the same products, own the same brands, and almost wear the same clothes. People are so different. They like different music, have different personalities and interests, and yet, many end up wearing the same clothes, buying the same products, and even reading the same books. 

To me, this behavior is a direct result of one thing that is very prevalent in our society—the desire for money. Big corporations want to make the most profit with the least amount of effort possible. The fewer products they have to make and the less money they have to spend, the better. In order to do this, they must create an audience of buyers that all want the same product. One way to make people think they need something is through social media influence.

As we all know, social media can easily breed insecurity, especially targeting women, and making them feel like there is something wrong with them that needs to be “fixed.” The “solution” to that insecurity can then be presented by a company through social media influencers. Beyond just selling to people through insecurities, many influencers have become a huge power in society. Social media “influencers” are people who create lifestyle content mainly surrounding beauty, fitness, fashion, or travel, and use their platform to influence their audience’s purchasing decisions. These creators have a huge influence on their audiences, with many causing product sell-outs by simply endorsing an item in their post. For example, after one TikTok user made a video about EOS shaving cream, the product sold out with a 450x increase in website visits to the shave category and a 25x order increase on the website. This happens consistently, and it results in many people not being able to find their favorite products after they have gone viral on social media. 

Most influencers participate in product overconsumption themselves, and a popular category of influencers are girls and women who make “get ready with me” or makeup videos. I don’t think there is anything wrong with wearing makeup or getting dressed up, but the general attitude surrounding this community on TikTok is that you should be constantly buying certain expensive products and clothing to always look as attractive as possible. A term was even coined for this on the app—“looksmaxxing.” When millions of media consumers are viewing these clips, appearance can be turned into a competition. Because gaining viewers can lead to video monetization and product collaborations, more opportunities are presented to those who have the most popular products, look the best, and can keep up with the most trends. This reinforces the idea that in order to be somebody and to be attractive, you might need to be like everyone else. 

This season, a new trend on TikTok has been to record a video of yourself asking “What are we all asking for this Christmas,” in hopes of gathering inspiration from the video’s comment section. I can’t lie—seeing so many people say things like this is really bothersome to me. I find it sad that so many people have lost their individuality through mass consumption. Why do you need to know what other people put on their Christmas list? It seems like it’s becoming harder for people to decide what they like for themselves without input from others. It’s okay to like something just because you like it. Not everything you own has to be well-known, and it doesn’t have to be something that other people have.

Now, I am not trying to imply that everyone who participates in trends has no sense of individuality. There have been clothing or product trends that I have liked and participated in here and there, and I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with buying popular items. However, I do think that as a culture overall, many of us have never developed our own opinions on our likes and dislikes.

If there was no one to influence you and tell you what to like, what would you want to wear? What kinds of things would you be interested in? I think that the best way to be relevant and inspiring, an “influence” if you will, is to be yourself. Like the things you like and realize how you look is not the most interesting thing about you. There is not a certain product that is going to “fix” you or make you finally feel as attractive as everyone else, because you don’t need to be fixed. This holiday season, make sure you’re treating yourself to what makes you feel authentically you.