The holidays bring a magical sense of excitement. There is of course family time, but more importantly, the joy of presents–especially for teenagers. However, once the holidays end, that excitement can turn to disappointment and dissatisfaction. As teenagers who constantly consume media, it can be hard to block out the outside pressure that pushes certain products as “must-haves.” TikTok has become the place for ridiculous Christmas hauls, including creators flaunting the airpods they received as a stocking stuffer. Scrolling through video after video about the essential products for 2024 not only makes it easy to believe that a person needs five different types of water bottles–it also encourages the wasteful idea that material items should be constantly replaced. Around the holidays, that idea is intensified.
Creators make videos titled “delivering what Santa didn’t,” in which they buy all the items they wanted but did not get. This type of content makes viewers believe that they should not settle and they should constantly be wanting more. TikTok users and shoppers have started to excuse this mass consumerist behavior, saying things like “It’s okay, I’m just a teenage girl.” It is easy to forget that this media is made specifically to target young people and validate their shopping sprees. The beauty industry especially focuses on marketing their products to young girls. A trending video on TikTok shows 10 year olds running around Sephora, buying makeup. Lots of people find makeup empowering, but promoting an overwhelming amount of products to young girls can start to warp their sense of self.
TikTok’s constantly evolving trends also normalize fast fashion. There is such a variety of niche fashion genres on TikTok that it’s overwhelming. Every month there is a new aesthetic to fit. Whether it’s “coastal cowgirl” or “frazzled English woman,” it requires a whole new wardrobe, and social media platforms are making it increasingly easy to buy directly from their apps. TikTok recently released a new feature called “TikTok Shop” which allows users to buy from different stores without leaving the app. Lots of influencers support buying from fast fashion brands like Amazon or Shein, and the number of influencers endorsing brands has exploded since the release of TikTok Shop. Camo clothing, for example, has recently taken over social media. It seems like everyone has camo pants or a camo hoodie. At first, I thought the trend seemed ugly and overdone, but after seeing video after video with people wearing it, I feel like I need to buy $90 camo jeans.
It’s not only online content urging shoppers to buy more, but the stores too. Starting in November with Black Friday to “end of the year” sales, stores have big discounts to bring in shoppers. It can be hard to focus on buying presents for your family when Urban Outfitters is having a 50% off sale.
So before the next trip to the mall, ask yourself, “Do I really need the ‘Tazz Platform Uggs’ when I already have the ‘Classic Ultra Mini Boot Uggs’?” Even though I couldn’t say no, maybe you can.
