Main Illustration by Hanin Nazifa

Many Labubu dolls have found a home in landfills, bars of Dubai chocolate have melted out of popularity, and GenAI has become slow and overwhelmed by the newest image generation trend. Products that had people fighting in lines a few weeks ago no longer elicit the same reaction. So, what comes next? Another expressive bag charm? A new brand of water bottle offering ten different colors? Or a gelatinous snack that looks better than it tastes? In a society that attributes worth to material wealth, we have become nurtured into believing that there is always a need for more than just the necessities. When a product becomes outdated, there will always be a novel replacement. The act of excessive and often harmful overuse of goods and services, known as overconsumption, has led to ecological problems and an exponential increase in consumerism. According to The Daily Cardinal, owning everything has become a show of status, and in modern times, influencers and capitalists have taken advantage of competitive consumerism for the sake of profits. The rise in overconsumption and its devastating effects on the environment can be attributed to rapid technological advancements reflected in social media algorithms and generative AI. 

To some, the fear of missing out (F.O.M.O.) is but an acronym. However, in a world of social media, it can be wielded like a weapon. It’s a figuratively shiny weapon with profit opportunities when it hits the right target: Generation Z. Today, Gen-Z prides themselves on progressiveness and inclusivity. So, what better place to find a community of like-minded people than on the internet? Social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram, known for short-term video content, have become homes for people all over the world to form online denizens. Once places to share common interests, these communities became another gateway for overconsumption to take control. TikTok and Instagram are addictive, so in the midst of scrolling, it is often forgotten how pervasive advertisements extend their claws towards persuadable teenagers.   

Teen years are the crucial period for the creation of one’s personal identity, and fashion can be a great form of self-expression. However, social media’s development of aesthetics has attributed appearance with fitting into a community, allowing corporations to blend identity with product consumption. For example, it is common to attribute being punk with leather jackets and spiky hair, rather than the political attitudes and rebellious nature. Therefore, the easiest way to find belonging in the punk crowd will always be to look the part by purchasing clothing and accessories affiliated with the popularized punk aesthetic online. At least, that’s the message pushed by fast-fashion brands through targeted advertisements and influencer culture.  

‘FashionTok’, a garment-loving community on TikTok, has been in hot water for its encouragement of fast fashion through ever-changing trends. One recent trend was the Shein haul, where sponsored influencers would buy and show off massive amounts of clothes from the online fast fashion brand, Shein. Influencers and Shein would continue to make money, promising consumers that looking good didn’t have to be associated with a hefty price. According to Time magazine, rising sales allowed Shein to beat H&M and Zara for the most searched clothing brand. Using algorithms and targeted advertisements, the fashion company boosted sales and even doubled its available inventory up to 600,000 units in 2023 alone. The brand’s dramatic rise in popularity led to negative consequences, as positive online content gave way to criticism of cheap quality clothing. This was particularly since most of the purchased items were discarded to make room for newer, trendier clothing circulating on the app. When brands are trying to maximize profits through quick and cheap fashion, the environment is often seen as collateral damage. In Shein’s 2023 sustainability report, the company had contributed 16.7 metric tons of carbon monoxide. Through research done by Yale Climate Connections, it’s evident that the company’s carbon emissions were due to textile waste of polyester, microplastic pollution, air-shipping, and unsafe factories employing overworked laborers.  

Fast fashion is present even for products meant to encourage sustainability. According to Bucknell University, the reusable water bottles that have gained popularity on social media are often used as a status symbol, under the guise that owning one makes one environmentally friendly. That belief, however, becomes faulty when so-called sustainable items are being produced and purchased in mass amounts. It attributes the act of buying something reusable to sustainability rather than reducing waste and overconsumption overall. The Stanley Cup, tote bags, and other reusable products were created to motivate consumers to be more environmentally conscious. Yet, the increase in popularity caused corporations to show their true colors when it came to making a profit. With brand new colors and patterns being consistently produced to attract a wider audience, the environmental cost of producing these goods are often ignored.  

Considering the rise of technology, artificial intelligence integration was bound to emerge sooner or later in the consumer world. Generative AI is a machine learning tool that can spit out text and images within seconds and has quickly been overused by humans for a variety of reasons. Generative AI has been credited for writing essays and completing final projects, but it has also been declared revolutionary for its descent into the world of art. With a click of a button and a short prompt, ChatGPT had managed to generate images in a span of mere seconds. As more people began to generate such images, AI images became harder to distinguish from human-made art. The ease of generating art contributes to the commodification of art. It creates a myth that art serves no real purpose other than to be looked at. This has allowed many companies to take advantage of AI art for advertising and marketing purposes leading to mass layoffs of graphic designers and artists in these industries. To make matters worse, GenAI has been trained on art posted online by real human artists looking to amass a following and sell their work. As a result, independent artists have begun losing commissions, money, and their hard work to AI and the corporations that insist on using it to save a few dollars.  

The film company Studio Ghibli, best known for the movies “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” fell victim to an image generation trend circulating on social media in which people would ask the AI to transform an image into the Studio Ghibli art style by Hayao Miyazaki. Personal photos or movie stills were used, and it didn’t take long for this trend to gain popularity. In spite of this, the trend consumed large amounts of energy and water, even causing servers to slow down and melt. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the processor chips needed to generate AI responses are prone to overheating and require around five million gallons of water daily to cool down, encroaching on Earth’s freshwater supply. As more people use AI for image and text generation, the environmental impact of its data centers often gets overlooked in favor of convenience.  

AI data centers, buildings that power generative AI modules, are responsible for the mass consumption of water and energy. They contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and affect local communities. In Memphis, Tennessee, Elon Musk built 35 methane gas turbines meant to power his xAI supercomputer. Although temporary, xAI has no federally required pollution controls and is the leading cause in the decline of the air quality and public health in the area. Residents have been struggling to breathe, stating that the air outside smells like gas. These turbines have emitted up to 2000 tons of nitrogen oxides and a chemical called formaldehyde, known for worsening lung conditions. The introduction of Musk’s xAI has led to higher cases of asthma and cancer than those present before.  

Society does not have to lose hope and succumb to overconsumption and the decline of our planet. In an effort to combat overconsumption, many have taken to the internet to popularize the ‘underconsumption core’ TikTok trend. The movement encouraging the public to be content with what they own has allowed people on the platform to show their ways of reducing waste through furniture thrifting, upcycling, and growing plants. It is important to remember that we are not out of solutions and have yet to hold corporations accountable or fight for more ecologically sustainable legislation. In a world where everything is sold for people to buy, it is essential to remember that, as consumers, big corporations may always be influencing our purchasing behavior in some way to make profit.  

Image Credit: Freepik