The New York Times informs us today that the latest trend is not to buy stuff just because you saw it on TikTok. Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia University, says this is probably thanks to bad economic times:
After years of being told what to buy, TikTok users are trying something new: buying and using only what they need.
....After a major economic downturn, usually about every decade or so, a similar back-to-basics trend follows, Mr. House said.... This recent cycle may have begun in the wake of post-lockdown “revenge spending,” when shoppers bought large amounts of goods to make up for time lost to the Covid-19 pandemic. As that boundless period gave way to the “vibecession,” a term for consumers’ general feelings of anxiety about the economy, many people responded by tightening their budgets.
As I keep saying, we don't actually have to rely on vibes. The federal government tracks how much we spend on stuff and updates it regularly. One thing that's crystal clear is that, in general, consumers haven't been tightening their budgets, something House should know. Beyond that, here's spending on items that I figure are probably fairly common among TikTok influencers:
Jewelry and personal care have been flat or down since 2022. There's nothing new going on. Everything else is up.
What does this mean for the thesis that TikTok influencers are losing their influence? There are two possibilities:
- It's wrong.
- It's right, but TikTok accounts for such tiny sales that it doesn't have any effect on the broad market.
In either case, it's hard to know why anyone should care. It's frankly a little hard to know why we all seem to care so much about social media in general, since it's largely just the latest version of teenagers and their fads. But apparently we do care, so it would be nice to know if these supposed fads are backed up by anything more than a few days on a "trending" list or a single reporter's vibes. Speaking for myself, I am massively skeptical that teenagers in large numbers have decided they're tired of buying stuff. That would be a truly remarkable development, after all.
It’s obvious, though, that “we” don’t care, right? A journalist had to write an article, used some buzzwords, included Tik-Tok, and there’s your article, because websites need content content content.
Cheap, easy, AI-writable buzzword TikTok.
Lazy lazy lazy.
This. Journos are drunks looking for their car keys; social media is the streetlamp.
or maybe people are finally realizing that they sell junk
I wish. I’m a UPS driver and the amount of Temu I deliver has just gone up, up, up. Mostly poor people buy the shit, but there are lots of poor people.
Oh my, next will come attempts to convince our spouses to buy just what they need.
Nevermind. A fantasy too ridiculous to seriously consider.
Isn't it time for Tik-Tok to fade away?
Based on current law, not till next year.
first, facebook needs to go the way of friendster.
The story might be correct but the causal relationship wrong. It might be a generational priority shift of values away from tangible goods to tangible experiences. Instead of collecting stuff, choose to eat good food and travel to interesting places.
isn't that just dink life?
Pretty much, but a lot of Z'ers could be pursuing this without the accumulation of wealth from being a no-child household.
Way back in the day, I worked with someone whose goal in life was to enjoy it. She would work, then quit and travel. When the money ran dry she'd find work again until she saved enough to quit and travel. No material wealth, just experiences.
seeking-arrangement-dot-com.
Yeah, it's not a real trend in the actual economy, just a new video fad on TikTok. Presumably it's a reaction to the trend of influencers making money shilling products for whoever will pay them - I'm unsurprised that people are interested in something that feels authentic in a sea of fakers. Also possibly a cynical hook for even more shilling - "Buy only what you need - and you totally need THIS!"
Also, as others have noted, a handy way for a NYT reporter to write a story that will get clicks without actually having to put on their shoes and do some real reporting.
There may be a recent increase in "deinfluencer" content, but that is different from actual changes in consumer behavior. People watch a lot of stuff without actually changing their own behavior. Sometimes it just makes them feel better about their current spending levels, which remain unchanged. And there is a long history of clothing upcycling videos that has nothing to do with consumer confidence - people just like watching old tablecloths gets turned into sundresses.
It's just a new aesthetic trend. Like cottage core or dark academia.