“TikTok made me buy it” is the beginning of a now-worn tale. Powered by influencers, these mini vlogs range from ubiquitous getaways with me stints, reviews of new collections, or unboxing videos of big PR-provided hauls.
These make the platform something of a hub for fashion and beauty lovers(opens in new window) It is a favorable platform for creators in this field. In a nutshell, the highly visual and fast-paced nature of apps has led to the creation of niche trends that promote consumerism, support brands, and dominate trend cycles.
Now, it claims that the antidote to this TikTok-supported consumerism is here, and it’s quickly gaining traction. “Empowering” videos and “anti-hole” content are once again trending on the app. Neither are new shopping phenomena, but the past few weeks have seen an explosion of conversations on the app: #deinfluencing.(opens in new window) It has 63.3 million views and 63.3 million counts.(opens in new window) There are 54.5 million.
TikTok influencers keep sending me to Amazon storefronts
Both trends essentially refer to influencers critiquing popular items and recommending users. please do not buy them. The tone is usually stinging, often chopping up viral products.Consider: That Perfume(opens in new window) Heated Eyelash Curler, Lip Oil Goes Viral Across FYP(opens in new window) Advertised with millions of views.
TikTok #antihaul videos are full of influencers telling TikTokker what products to avoid.
Credits: Screenshots: TikTok / @sheiskyra, @jessikasherman, @joely.malcolm.
Transformed into something of a verb, “reduce influence” sees many TikTokkers pushing the exact opposite of what fashion TikToks usually do. While “influence” is a direct pipeline to purchase, “deinfluence” should aim to prevent consumerist surplus.
But not all posts in this broader trend are wholly anti-consumerist. Nor is it necessarily aimed at reducing overconsumption.Check out this series(opens in new window) influencer @valeriafride(opens in new window)“Let me deinfluence you”, she begins in the first video(opens in new window), before unzipping the hyped purchase that TikTok thoroughly endorses. For each, however, she offers a “much better” or “half the price” alternative. Several other TikTokkers have followed a similar format, garnering attention with seemingly tried-and-tested substitutes.
Videos about “draining influence” range from suggesting other items to opposing TikTok-inspired shopping.
Credits: Screenshots: TikTok / @jacquelynmenger, @tamillionaire4eva, @valeriafride.
Within such videos, the potential for diminishing influence is somewhat reduced. It’s not meant to stop influencing viral purchases, but instead suggest alternative items. Therefore, it is hard to say that influence-diminishing or rebellious posts are completely separate from consumption.
It is hard to say that disempowering or rebellious posts are completely separated from consumption.
Of course, some influencers working to de-influence are actually discussing the need to buy less. At the very least, they touch on the idea that the products TikTok endorses aren’t necessarily the best. Being a “sustainable influencer” is considered a contradiction, even ironic. 2022 new york times article(opens in new window) Journalist Isabel Sloan reflected on the phenomenon, saying, “These influencers may showcase brands that seek to reduce their environmental impact, but their content still drives the appetite for consumption.” I am writing. This is exactly what we see on her TikTok today, with creators deprecating certain items just to promote others.
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However, for many, this trend can still be seen as a step in the right direction.
Trend forecaster Mandy Lee talks about weakening influence and anti-holes in a recent TikTok video.(opens in new window) Lee believes that trends are to “educate people and seek to foster conversation, ideas and critical thinking about personal style, consumption, cultural context and fashion trends”. sees it as an avenue to foster a broader conversation about cultural influence, consumer culture, and TikTok’s role in all of that. So even if you have a dark video that weakens the impact, it can still pause. A minute for her to think more about where and how you spend your money.
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Kabra Eshita Davis(opens in new window)founder and CEO of fashion rental app ByRotation(opens in new window), a strong believer in sustainable wardrobe-enhancing practices, a core idea that led to the creation of her tech platform. ByRotation is a digital peer-to-peer rental startup designed to encourage slow consumption.(opens in new window) Tackling fundamental problems such as textile waste(opens in new window)She says platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and even LinkedIn have helped fuel such conversations.
“One of the great things about social media is that there is a lot of education out there and everyone is sharing their pearls of wisdom. It’s in it,” Kabra-Davies tells Mashable. “It’s really great to see people, especially young creators, being realists, and it’s great to see fashion influencers making the leap into sustainability and slow fashion.”
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Notably, TikTok and its users are not the first to promote such narratives.Critical thinking in the context of consumption has long been vouched for by sustainability advocates and fashion experts, especially marginalized people and black women. Consumption: The need for collective change.Colonialism, climate change, consumerism(opens in new window) Aja Barber facilitated the conversation in this space and facilitated much-needed discussion on influencer-driven consumption.activists including Michael Roach(opens in new window)Leah Thomas(opens in new window)Cora Harrington(opens in new window) We also use the platform to post about influencer-driven consumption and sustainability trends.
To combat the promotion of consumerism, Barber suggests tactics such as ditching item or brand tagging when posting outfits on social media. “It’s an indirect sale of getting into someone’s subconscious and trying to get people to buy more.”
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This conscious decision not to tag products is a piece of a big puzzle that is weakening influence. TikTokker Tamillionaire 4eva(opens in new window) open to her followers(opens in new window) It’s a practice she’s now trying to adopt more in an attempt to consciously weaken her influence.
“I don’t want to be just a product billboard.”
“I’m just sharing what I wear, what I do, what I like, and I want to do it in that way – I hope you like it.” “I don’t want you to feel the need to buy anything,” she says, admitting that her followers sometimes get upset that individual products don’t have tags.
“I don’t want to be just a product billboard,” she continues.
Taking up themes such as mindful consumption and moving away from the monster that is the culture of transport is crucial in the fight against overconsumption. Diminished influence is not without merit. Ultimately, however, separating a platform like TikTok from consumerism may be a daunting task, even impossible.
