People who claim that underconsumption core is "poverty core" show an alarming lack of understanding how poverty works and how deeply they themselves are already stuck in consumerism, if they think that owning 40 pairs of shoes and buying third-rate sweatshop clothing every week is normal.
As somebody who grew up in poverty as a child and now is an adult conscious consumer, I find it so offensive when people say intentionally buying less and using things until they break is somehow bottom of the barrel. The point of having money isn’t to spend it and have more stuff than you need. It’s the safety net and knowing that you have something to fall back on when life gets in the way. I live a little better than when I was a kid, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve adopted social media’s image of living well
Don't know where people think underconsumption is considered "fetishizing poverty" or "recession core". Poverty and recessions are complex issues than underconsumption. True underconsumption would be using things until they break or can't be fixed anymore, buying what we need instead of buying what we want, and using your money efficiently that you can save it for the future. Underconsumption should be a norm, not a trend. For too long, we allow social media and influences justify ridiculous purchases that no one can afford. If underconsumption can actually help with the economy and the overall environment, I'm all for it.
I don't get how it's "under" consumption, though. What is it under? Wouldn't using things until they break and can't be fixed, and only buying what we need just be the correct amount of consumption?
Because we have no choice. It's not a trend for us. I get under $700 in a fixed income, and have never worked for more than minimum wage. This has the same vibes as affluent people moving to cities and then complaining about how expensive everything is.
@@ArchIVEDCinema it's only under consumption when you compare it to the excessive amounts of stuff people are used to buying and seeing people buy on social media. For me this is just normal. I have never been on a shopping binge for anything in my life. I will buy products that I use regularly and will buy one or two extra if they are discounted, but that's it.
Agreed, plus anyone could become poor if they don’t manage their spending habits. People who earn fortunes but squander them on stuff can end up with very little indeed
@@ArchIVEDCinema If we're aiming for the opposite of OVERconsumption, then UNDERconsumption just makes sense. Even if the wording isn't _completely_ accurate
Yes, but this is a cronically online Tiktoker kind of problem. I don't know a single person who cares about this in real life. Maybe most people I know still have some sense.
It does for some people. Frugality is not fun so dressing it up as an aesthetic weirdly helps enjoy not spending money. Also, it helps breaking shopping addiction habits and allows people to feel more gratitude towards what they already have.
I’ll never forget when a girl at the gym asked me where I got my hat because she liked the way it looked “old and use” when in reality it was just an old, used hat 😂
My husband is a great example of underconsumption which has nothing to do with poverty. His family is quite well-off, he’s got a decent job and never faced a lack of money. But some of his T-shirts are over 7 years old and he only spends on essentials and on the things that really bring him joy. On the contrary, me coming from a kinda poor background have a need to overconsume to prove myself something
Yeah it’s the same with me. My fiancé grew up middle class and I’m working class. I used to spend way too much on expensive clothes when I could for a while, but my fiancé only buys good quality necessities. It’s hard to resist when I finally had some money in my 20s. I wish I would have saved for a down payment for a house instead of partying and buying expensive shit 😢 growing up poor never teaches one to handle money later in life. I never got allowance money as a kid
By cutting out the things he doesn't want to pay for he frees up his money to focus on the things he enjoys. I generally wear out my shirts as well but they never last 7 year (damn thick body hair). But that leaves me free to spend my money without fear of overdrafting or putting money on credit cards. I can go to the store and not have to worry about putting things back, i can splurge on going out to eat when i don't feel like cooking. I have an emergency fund that allows me to avoid the stress of things randomly breaking or use that money to assist family members when they run into difficult spots financially. Is a closet full of new shirts and shoes really worth having to scramble to borrow money to pay for a broken car or a new water heater? Borrowing money increases the cost of items you pay for compounding the overall cost of those emergencies.
Just described my partner and I 😂🫶 Not allowing myself things I actually need has been a problem for me though, cause I fear spending money overall. He on the other hand knows what he needs, buy only that and are not afraid of doing so 😢❤
Though a lot of “underconsumption” is just not falling for trends and having a ton of stuff we don’t need, some of it involves repurposing and thrifting. I think that’s so important, since there’s so much fast fashion waste and plastic consumption. It’s sad things like upcycling are happening partially due to trends, but if a few videos are giving that movement traction then that’s fine by me!
@@meganmitchell6787 This trend literally defeats the purpose of under consumption. I wish people championed individual personality, and taste like they do water bottle accessories, and water activated hand towels.
I agree, especially because I think a lot of the people who are over-consuming are doing it on credit cards and can't actually afford what they're doing- they're buying things they don't need instead of having an emergency fund for example. When people have plenty of money and are just purposely being super minimalist just to act superior, as if somehow they are more spiritual than people who like nice things, that's a little bit annoying, but I don't think it's actually that common. I don't know anybody in real life who is like that.
i feel like underconsumption is promoting being aware of what your using and how much you use, which is a great start to reducing your everyday purchases and to start thinking about what you buy and why. its a great way to start moving away from this "buy buy buy" culture.
Instead of following an underconsumption trend, just quit following trends at all. Stop giving a damn what others think and use your money for yourself and your future.
I think everyone is sick of being sold to, being made to feel inadequate if they don't have the latest and greatest thing. I'm all for spending less, using what you have, thrift store shopping and living below your means! Be you, stop trying to be someone else because chances are, that person you see on social media or other places is not who they really are. Something I've noticed for myself is thinking "I should go to TJMaxx" or "I should go thrift store shopping" and then talking myself out of it because I need NOTHING.
Great and thought-provoking analysis! As a person who prefers the mundane, the one issue I have with underconsumption/minimalism/whatever-the-term-may-be is that it seems to equate living with a beige-esque aesthetic. I neither buy much nor often. But when I do I love strong colours and both form & function. Also, thank you for the quote “pessisism does not breed progress”.
I completely agree. Would love to see someone who does both ❤ We could have a colourfull & warm home, filled with only the items we actually need. That is what I am aiming for ❤
I agree with your sentiment, I am a minimalist and I wear all my favourite colours (mustard yellow, burnt orange, emerald green, aubergine, etc) and bold prints. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing, just wear what you love so long as you are not over buying.
I'm in my 40s ("Oregon Trail Generation") and this under consumption "trend" looks like the middle class of my childhood. We never flew anywhere (my first flight was to basic training), a family road trip every few years, countertop appliances and linens were from when my parents got married 20 years prior. We had school shoes and gym shoes, we had hand-me-down friends. We got some new clothes at the mall in August. I got CDs and books at the library. We weren't poor.
It might be how they were raised. My parents were very fair with how many toys/treats/trips we got growing up. Anecdotally, the kid I nanny for isn’t insanely rich but is very spoiled, and she expects to get a brand new G wagon for her 16th birthday. I don’t have the heart to tell her that her parents definitely aren’t going to go that big. 😂
Same. Was raised middle-class/poor. And not having something knew or fitting, like my bike or clothes, anymore for a while were just how it was. Pants too small? Now they're shorts 😂 We had food and a roof over our heads and lots of stuffed animals ❤❤
I'm sick and tired of people complaining abt underconsumption. Literally nothing is good. "Weeeeh, this is just how I live, weeeeh" that's the point. Like, people shoving excess at us: BAD, THAT'S BAD. People sharing their normal lives not burdened by need to buy 1000 of one thin: BAD, THAT'S BAD. Jesus. Also, underconsumption isn't exclusive to being poor. It's about not succumbing to overconsumption and ads. This is legit first video I've seen that doesn't lean into desperate arguments against it just to seem more profound. Instead it is just a nice, intelligent commentary with no need to one up someone.
@@RamenzillaX It's not rebranded. It is just what it is called on tiktok because tiktok trends are called "cores". That's just how you tag stuff. It is "under" consumption as opposed to "OVER" consumption- and many people put open disclaimers as in "actually just normal consumption". Words do have meaning and these mean just fine. It's a trend about spending, not about food. If you go by the food metaphor... you're wrong. You shouldn't do that. You can't just go "this word means this in this completely different setting, so I'll be mad that according to that setting, it is wrong to be used here". Also, minimalism and underconsumption aren't one at the same, at all. It is not a rebrand, it is 2 separate things.
Underconsumption, in an economic sense, is consuming less product than is produced - or living below your means. Poverty, in economics, is more like "restricted consumption" because the poor don't have the financial power to either under or overconsume in the same way.
I bought a house out in the woods a little less than a year ago. I've started keeping all my food waste in a drywall bucket (that I found in the garage from the previous owner) and collecting bagged grass from when I mow the lawn to make compost out of to use for gardening. I've been thinking about how I'm gonna build a bin for my compost pile, but arlier today, I noticed that there were some random bricks laying around the yard from the previous owner, so I stacked them in a little 4'×4' square to put my pile in. I looked up how to start a compost pile, and apparently you want a base layer of high-carbon material, like wood. I then realized that I've been cutting and splitting firewood out of trees that came down in my yard from recent storms, and there's tons of wood/bark scraps in the area that I've been splitting the wood. So I used that for my base layer. This doesn't have much to do with the video. It's just that I was doing all this literally earlier today and I thought it felt kinda cool to be able to find ways to use all these bits of otherwise waste
I love that. I also have a house in the woods and do a similar thing when I weed - I don’t have grass but when I pull out invasive nonnative plants, I drop them to decompose and enrich the soil. And I use fallen branches and rocks in projects. I think this sort of thing connects you to the earth.
composting is really great. I see all these yard debris bins and i see people slowly giving away their own good topsoil. I understand that occasionally you will have more debris than you can handle but things like lawn clippings should just be mulched and put back on the lawn, then you spend less on fertilizers in the spring.
I live in a travel trailer and boondock on BLM land in the west of the US. Each year I set a goal and try to make my life easier/better. This year was to make less trash. I am doing ok - found some clever ways to reuse materials that would otherwise be called trash but still create way too much IMO. I think I will be doing the same thing again next year.
😂😂😂 are you a boomer? Definitely keep items that are still good and useful to you. Don't fall into the trap of keeping stuff for "just in case". I have a set of pasta bowls that are about 20 years old, I have only broken one in all that time, but they are now all scratched up and looking bad, so I will be replacing them soon, it's getting embarrassing serving people with those dishes 😂😂😂😂
Honestly I don’t think it really matters if it’s deemed underconsumption or normal consumption (a rose by any other name would smell as sweet)- I think anyone promoting the ideals of less waste and less desire for “things” in a society/internet culture that tells us to strive for more is doing good work. Romanticizing contentment for what we have and getting more out of life than just things to buy is a beautiful idea and while not new, I love that people are sharing their experiences.
Under consumption inherently implies you are consuming less than you should as opposed to buying only what is needed and spending wisely.Underconsumption promotes spending by pretending it doesn't. It's a mental trick. Buying what is needed and spending wisely is called being frugal.
I never connected with the 2010s minimalism movement; I have an emotional attachment to my things (especially old things) and I didn’t want to live in a sterile, empty, gray house but I also sure as hell didn’t connect with the insane “restock” and overconsumption trend. They both sucked (for me). So I’m all for just using what you have, repairing what you can and replacing things with second hand items as much as is practicable. It’s not rocket science. Most of the world has no choice but to live this way so I think just “living within your means” should be the standard.
I like the overall message and think it's a net positive, my main nitpick is I'm an old ass millennial and find the labeling of every innocuous lifestyle choice as a "-core" trend to be incredibly annoying, lol. I'm happy to see someone is positive because I am not. I think "extravagance" will always be a popular form of escapism, that the pressure to keep up appearances and/ascend socioeconomically will never go away, and that the people who can afford not to are generally more economically privileged anyway.
Cara thank you so much for everything you do, you've taught me so much about being more intentional with my spending, how to critically analyse what I want to buy and why. I have ADHD and it's something I've always struggled with. I spent most of my early 20s being reckless with spending and getting into debt, but now I'm making sure that every dollar I make is allocated. It's a work in progress, but I'm doing so much better.
I love this trend but I hate the name. As a Gen Xer I’m so sick of everything being called “core” or “aesthetic”. In the 80s most of these habits were normal. Then everything started going sideways post Y2K. Back then we called it frugality. Our clothes were hand me downs, our cars were second hand, homes were more modest and we only got clothes at Back to school, Birthdays or Christmas. We could count the number of times we ate out per year on one hand. I’d love see a return to these things.
Wow, you just popped as one of my shorts but you got me realising stuff. I have already lived the minimalistic( yet artsy and hippie) life and it was hard for me to explain why I do this. I desired more money for my travelling- so I can admit I met my goals
even if it stops being a "trend" there will be people for whom it has affected their day to day habits and how they think about spending money and using things and that is a net positive. I've always been a person who uses things until they wear out and I'm thrilled to see this becoming more prominent on social media
Good question on whether or not this is a pendulum swing bound to go in the other direction. It was bizarre to see a minimalist influencer I’d followed for 5 years started promoting Amazon links! It’s hard to stay balanced when you’re a human with changing hobbies, interests, and likes.
We would not need underconsumption if unabashed mindless overconsumption didn’t get called out in social media. From a personal standpoint I never shopped Amazon prior to the pandemic I didn’t have time to watch TH-cam before then either. Moving from an office to full time telework gave me time. And I noticed then how many videos were of massive collections of makeup and clothes with no context. Of constant decluttering and seasonal junk decor. That is not sustainable in any form, it is not healthy for the actual consumer, it is stressful, wasteful and all the other words like these. There should be no need to underconsume anything. We need to just stop letting ourself be played for some algorithm. Make your life about living and being present and enjoying what you have. Actually enjoy putting on makeup- enjoy your clothes and everything and take time not a lot but time to make yourself presentable everyday. And if you are decluttering don’t be too fast to rid yourself of quality items that you didn’t use in a year or more. You will never be able to replace them.😢 0:15
My opinion on fetishizing poverty is that people ALREADY DO THAT. I have had multiple conversations with my own family members where they love to flaunt being poor. (Background: we grew up poor but I have been very lucky and I was able to save money to buy a house, nice car, etc. but the rest of my immediate family is still quite poor) I think looking at wealthy people is inspiring. They think they’re all the devil. And I’m not talking about the kardashians. Im talking about the people with beautiful homes who have a pool in the backyard lol
What you call "underconsumption" or "minimalism" has already existed since hundreds of years in Indian households. This is very normal for us. Indian families buy things value for money. Means they will buy something which should last them long , means less money spent over the years and less pollution.
As a Pole, I find it really weird that somebody thinks this is new and different. That is so much in our culture that seeing this considered discovery is very entertaining
As a person that has tried staying off social media and comparing myself to others, as well as adopting a minimalist/sustainable life since the pandemic…I LOVE underconsumption core. Just show the normal, mundane parts of life. Not everything we do has to be put on the internet for others to see. I feel like 90% of the things people own or do is to show off to others on the internet. So if you do want to show off your under/normal consumption, do it! Show to people that there is more to life than consuming stuff and destroying the planet. I love this trend. And the people that have a problem with it and say it’s glorifying poverty and/or pick me status…please go touch some grass. This is to show that you don’t HAVE to consume too much when you don’t live under the poverty line. Let people live their lives and romanticize the ordinary. Because it’s beautiful. ❤
I wish you'd have brought up the gatekeeping in Underconsumption core where people will say you have too much stuff to do 'Underconsumption core'. I've seen people attack a family of 5 for having "too much food to be Underconsumption core" when it was a sane amount of food for a family of 5 to have, they aren't satisfied until you look like you are struggling financially, or ever. I would have loved to see your opinion on that.
everything goes to extremes, similar to the minimalist movement from 10 years ago. starts off just buy less and only what you need to throw out everything and have nothing
I think this is a cycle. People are reflecting on their spending habits mostly because of the economy we are in. But as soon as things get better and easier and people start to feel richer, some of them are definitely going to spend more and move again towards the overconsumption end of the scale.
I love when people give names to things we, at third world countries like mine, have been doing for all our lives. I can't remember a time when i did not cut the toothpaste tube in half to use it all the way, just to give one example
Most Americans do not live like social media implies; inequality is quite extreme here (check the Gini coefficient for a lark), but prices don’t vary as much as you might expect with very different regional wages in the continental US. That ends up meaning things which are totally unattainable to most of us are just fifteen mintues’ wages in certain markets. People in the rest of the country (and probably the world) watch this media and are fooled into thinking it’s normal, but in the US they’re usually too ashamed to talk about that mismatch, because we put so much social status on having money. That said, in the US in general, most of the things you need to live are expensive relative to wages (rent, the ability to transport yourself to work or school, education), the things you might want but don’t need at all are cheap relative to wages as compared to the rest of the world (alcohol, electronics and consumer goods, home furnishings.) One weird exception - staple groceries are mostly *very* cheap, as long as you only ever want to eat bland carbohydrates cooked from scratch. But access to varied fresh produce, on the other hand, is mostly a luxury, and usually priced accordingly to local wages across the US because of the short shelf life.
Underconsumption is a social media trend, so it's not here to stay. In reality, which differs from social media, it's here to stay for a lot of people because it's normal consumption. I've talked with friends about this trend and the characteristics of it were shown in our childhood and even now as adults.
I’ve been trying to be intentional about all the things I’m purchasing by asking myself ‘do I want to pay to have this item shipped 2000 miles’ because we have one year left in our current place until we move.
"Undercunsumption core" is a good trend, but it's horrifying that it is a trend, and it is horrifying that we are becoming so sheepish that we spend our energy on following influencers and trends, instead of using our own grey matter. No wonder mental health is going down the drain. This stuff starts making me feel old, I'm 26 and I cannot fathom how this is where we have gotten with our normalization of over-consumption of hot garbage.
It's using what you have. It is finding a piece of furniture by the road that needs a coat of paint or a new cushion. I got a chaise lounge chair and just so happened to be the day the neighbors a few houses up had their pest control guy there. So I asked very demure and very mindful if he could help me load it. Got a free inspection of it too 😊 Thank you 💙
The only warning I have for those underconsumption core influencers is that make-up products have an expiration date once opened. Pass that date, bacteria can develop and cause infections or rashes. Underconsumption should be about priotising what you need vs what you want. It's doesn't need to be a flex about owning only one or a few of a thing. It's also about learning skills like sewing and basic repair skills so you can keep your belongings longer.
I have a lot of stuff. And I need to make more of an effort to use it all more. But I'm working on my shopping habits so I ultimately buy less this upcoming year. Because I have more than enough. I don't think there is any point in purging all of these things and trying to become a minimalist. I am happy being a maximalist. I just need to be happy with not overconsuming and just focusing on making the most of what I have.
As long as the consumer isn't deprived or indirectly putting themselves at risk of harm (e.g. wearing shoes with collapsed soles such that you may develop ankle problems, or only having 1 pair of shoes which develops an odor over time) I could definitely see a place for this trend. That being said, everything in moderation
Unfer consumption is just another form of living below your means wich is altamitly really good because if somthing happens emergency wise that would normally cost you a lot of money you will have more money to help fivht that problem that gets thrown your way
Differentiating between need and want is something I learned as a child decades ago. Not giving a bleep what 'aesthetic' or 'core' are fashionable now (ugh I hate how these terms are used) and dressing stylishly in what I already have should not be a 'trend'. Not buying bleep you don't need. All of this ought to be taught to everyone. But, life and internet be as they are, this trend may actually teach the kids something, and overall that's a positive thing if any of it sticks.
Loved the video, but wanted to argue that overconsuption and micro trends have nothing to do with maximalism. Maximalism, true maximalism, is about having a lot meaningful things for a long time, keeping heirlooms, DIYing stuff when you want more. Both minimalism and maximalism can be victims of overconsuption, but at its core both od them are about ones own relationship with their possessions outside of capitalism and both are valid.
I think "underconsumption core" is too small to actually be much of anything right now. As a society we are still very much in the maximillism upswing that was started during the pandemic. I'm very happy to see people recognizing that micro trends are horrible for our wallets and the planet, but it still feels like a very small drop in the sea of consumerism that is everywhere around us right now. I also do agree that a large part of where this trend is coming from is people realizing that the aspirational lifestyles they see online are not reality, and that the creators they see who are hauling new things every week are paid to do so, while the consumer is paying to do it. This is becoming a more well known thing, so the combat is showing more "normal" consumer habits
It sounds like a "minimalism" rebrand, which is food because every generation has to find the "voice" that speaks to it. Minimalism, budgeting, frugality, all terms that fit their era.
I also felt like it was more about being environmentally conscious. Like a mix of not wasting your money on stuff you actually don’t need, being more minimalistic and not polluting more than need be. With all the global warming talk it’s not really surprising.
Honestly I think for some people "underconsumption core" is just part of the cycle of overconsumption. For some people it is legitimately recognizing how much stuff you actually use, but for others. It seens like a rebrand of "decluttering" and decluttering is not the opposite of over consumption it's a part of it. You overconsume, purge it during a decluttering phase and then have more space to overconsume again
People saying it's 'glorifying poverty' are something else, man. They gotta be _so_ for real. No one wants to be poor, lmfao. If the opposition to child labor/slavery, wasting resources, pollution and capitalist destruction, is UnDeRCoNSuMpTiOnCoRE then everybody better stfu-
I feel like one can both experience powerty and under/overconsumtion. Yes, they might intersect however they may also not. I grew up below middle class and I saw completely different consumption behaviors around me: some were buying cheap winter coats not being able to afford good ones, and my family was shopping in thrift stores and was not ashamed of taking a chair someone put in a street as a trash. My mother was concerned about ecology and found wise to give things second life simply because one can and it’s also fun. You can still be overconsuming in poverty, that’s what I want to say. Consumption behavior is a choice, even if yes influenced by the poverty or it’s absence.
I feel a lot of the criticism for underconsumption comes from the “core” ification of it all. But ultimately I think it’s a good thing. Like you said cultivating gratitude and getting off the hamster wheel of always needing something new is good for the planet, your wallet, and ultimately, in my opinion, your mental health.
I like the idea of underconsumption, and try to live like that myself, but the danger is with making it an aesthetic. Especially when you have an influencer that switches from hauls to underconsumption core. Where is all their stuff going? Are they just chucking it out to adhere to the new “core”?
I think that the debate that people are having about under consumption versus over consumption is because we spend too much time on the Internet and because of a lack of understanding of the concepts of denotation and connotation. Clearly on TikTok the connotation of underconsumption is when an individual performs behaviour which counters overconsumption. So when someone is overconsuming they might buy so much more make up or food or clothing than they could ever use but when somebody underconsumes they only buy those things which they can use and make sure to repair them until they can't use them anymore. Outside of the Internet however , the denotation of underconsumption is that you are consuming less than you are meant to be or below the available supply. It means that you are not consuming enough food, clothing and or other things that you may need in life. People do not choose to underconsume, it is often cause by a lack of access/ purchasing power. The spirit of what people are trying to express here would be more accurately reflected in phrasing such as conscious consumption, in which an individual chooses to buy what only that which they will use and repair it until unusable e.t.c. Keyword here is choose because people can go into debt to purchase things.
I think the frustration that people who live in poverty feel because behaviours they've had no choice but to engage in, is valid - as some underconsumption-core videos seemingly glamorise these behaviours and some of the people doing so seem to either be jumping on a trend or aren't sincere. The satire videos that have emerged perfectly illustrate this. Unfortunately, I think undercomsumption-core is already on it's way out 😭 I'm hearing less and less about it, however I do not occupy TikTok space.
I think where Americans need this the most is when it comes to vehicles. There are plenty of $5-10k cars out there that will last you years without any major problems, but so many feel they deserve a new car and sign up for terrible payments at a dealership
You could do an eight hour series on this exact topic and I’d watch the whole thing, but I appreciate your professional concision. I think this is the first time I haven’t been frustrated by the lack of historical context discussing the origin of the word. Underconsumption probably caught on for symmetry to overconsumption as you cited, but it does have a formal meaning regarding economic conditions in which consumption doesn’t rise to overproduction. Considering the proportion of everything made that ends up in landfills, we *should* want to underconsume relative to the present rate of production, until production falls to reasonable, sustainable levels. Until then, we’re just mining fuels and materials so that we can manufacture things people mostly don’t buy so that we can ship them away again and bury them as polluting waste somewhere else - people have to spend most of their lives participating in this planet-killing makework, instead of providing the labor for things people actually do need to live and thrive, it’s totally nuts.
Thanks for the video! I think this is the first look at underconsumption core that I totally agree with. A lot of the people looking at underconsumption core criticized it for being a trend instead of a lifestyle and just being normal consumption. But, like you said, it's a reaction to the overconsumption shown online and is underconsumption by comparison. Also, the people participating in the trend have already been living that way for years. You don’t get worndown towels and mostly used makeup products overnight. Why shouldn't people living that way get to romanticize their lives just as much as the overconsumption girlies? And the trend can change the way we view under consumption as a whole. I personally started under consuming for a lot of reasons. I care about labor rights and the environment; I was tired of the rollercoaster of spending and regretting it; I disagree with many companies' practices and don't want to support them (boycotting amazon, etsy, shein, temu, and nestle kind of forces you to consume less), and finally I'm about to finish grad school and looking at not living in poverty for the first time in my life, so I want to develop a better relationship to money. If this trend helps get more people off the spending roller coaster, I'm so here for it. Do you think you could make a video for people about to have more money than they're used to? The jobs Ive had over the summers and that I will have after I graduate are four times higher salary than Ive ever had before. Im worried that my subsistance living mindset will not be useful anymore.
There might be some people on social media who remain this way, but once they realize that the big bucks come from sponsorships and nobody wants to sponsor someone who isn't buying from them, they'll either stop social media or switch back to peddling whatever a brand deal tells them to promote. I think in that sense, this is just a trend. Very few are likely doing it as an honest lifestyle.
I don't think the clean girl aesthetic could really be considered as a precursor to underconsumption core since, while the clothing, hairstyles and makeup are simpler, that trend focused on intense skincare regimens that required a ton of different products. It was also very much not limited to the person's appearance and lead to people overhauling not only their makeup bags and closet, but entire living space and daily use items (aesthetic fridges, smoothie tumblers, water bottles, yoga mats etc.) The list of things one needed to purchase to get the clean girl look and lifestyle was exhaustive and using items to the point they were finished and visibly needing to be replaced was not part of the look.
I quite like the idea of romanticizing healthy buying habits. I take lots of staged pictures of my living space that I could probably post to underconsumption core trends, but just for fun. As you said, its a great thing to take joy in the mundane
in The Millionaire Nect Door, he speaks to living under your means as a tool for building wealth. it's a fairly old book (circa late 90's), but the messaging stands
I just ignore these aesthetics and trends as they’re happening, and I don’t learn about them until these deep dive videos come out. I’m kind of exhausted just hearing about this excessive sharing of people’s lives. How does anyone keep up with these things as they’re happening? It’s nauseating.
I think any time a new audience gets introduced to conscious consumerism, it’s a good thing. Does the name make me cringe? Yes. Does the focus on aesthetics make me roll my eyes? Also, yes. But I think the benefits outweigh my personal gripes with it.
An issue with this concept is the trend itself, as in people actively virtue signalling common sense. It might not glorify poverty, but certainly some off-putting righteousness. ‘Underconsumption Core’ seems like a spectacularly noble title for simple mindfulness. This trend will die off the same way all the others did within this ADD inducing social media environment.
PLEASE do the "why renting isn't throwing your money away" video PLEASE. Because it takes me like 1 hour to explain to people why I'm actually being financially savvy by renting FOR NOW.
@Cara Nicole Once again another well delivered well thought and deployed video essay. Peeling back the onion layers on this really does gets one thinking. Lately in life I feel the advantages gained of the minimalist path. I believe in investing and saving vs overconsumption and but culture. When I was younger I used to where designer clothes. latest phone. Now a buy a mid entry run it for four years. I wear two pairs of shoes. Only dress now in workgear like my carrhart jacket and my work wear as my streetwear. Light furnishings. I'd rather build my own pc and doesn't have a flashy case with RGB. As I suppose I am not caught up with showing off material things but rather seek and desire personal comfort and needs from the various products I use. In life you learn to become thrifty and the value in it. As always you take an interesting deep dive into intricacies of your content! Glad I subscribed.
I got a bicycle for free many years ago. Now it's getting some issues here and there. So I told my friend (who has less money than I do) I want it to be fixed. "Why don't you buy a new one?" I'm sorry for what?
I hope that underconsumption continues on for longer knowing how short internet trends are lol. Also, i worry about influencers who “want to join the trend” and may throw away their overconsumption just to join said “trend”. But the idea of underconsumption is great!
You make some good points and I like your videos, but you seem to be conflating maximalism with overconsumption and minimalism with underconsumption. There is overlap, sure, but it's definitely possible to be maximalist in a conscious/underconsumerist/sustainable way (thrifting, getting your items over a long period of time, and using things for a long time), and you can be minimalist in a wasteful, overconsumerist way (the cycle of buying-decluttering-buying-decluttering, decluttering irresponsibly, etc). I do like the trend, and if it made some people more conscious of their consumption habits and showed what is 'normal' vs all the excess, it's a win.
i disagree that it's recession-core, bc consuming less is for everyone if you want to. i'm not poor but i don't like owning a ton of crap that is going to end up in a landfill, so i prefer timeless items that will last a long time. in our kitchen we use my grandmother's dining table and chairs i grew up with, i use her old lagostina pots that will literally last our entire lives. i repair clothes when i can with her old sewing machine bc i don't want to contribute to fashion waste (and i want to love my clothes for longer). for me it's not about the aesthetic but the philosophy of not making our planet worse, as much as you realistically can fit into your lifestyle. sure i do wasteful things sometimes but it's impossible to do it perfectly- so i believe cut down where you can and try to do what's best for you and not care about keeping up w everyone else. oh all that and i find owning a bunch of stuff i don't use kind of stressful bc it takes up mental space just nagging at me to deal with it. for example if i don't end up liking a makeup product i will try to find someone (friends, colleagues) who want it. get it out of my drawer but try to make it go to use lol
The biggest difference from other trends for me is the fallout of it. Underconsumption has mostly no bad consequences and that is definitely not the case for other trends...
Just remember, time is money and when you buy new items, you’re exchanging your literal life force (time spent making the money) for a good/service. Just think, is it really worth it? Maybe your time is worth buying a new item rathering than glorifying the act of thrifting/repurposing old items which need cleaning, fixing, etc. Maybe your time is better spent buying a new item once and moving on.
Interesting how we move to clean girl and underconsumption but in terms of interior decor and architecture we are moving towards more of a maximalist or classic style
After taking a little stroll, mulling over this video, I think the problem is actually with the word overconsumption. Unless you are morbidly obese, few people actually over consume. Instead, they demonstrate a hoarder mentality. Meaning, they accumulate items that they never or rarely use or enjoy. The only difference is that they have neat display shelves and buy bigger houses to store their hoards (not hauls).
I'm all for changing the current culture of overconsumption, but i think it's not really accurate to equate maximalism with overconsumption. Sure, it can be related and probably is in many cases. But if you love maximalist house decor, you can achieve than with normal consumption (or underconsumption, whatever you want to call it). I've been accumulating decor pieces over the years, to achieve a room that feels, to some degree, like extension of myself because that is what i like. That's how my creativity is presenting in my life. If someone likes minimalist decor, lifestyle, wardrobe or whatever then good for them. If while changing their consumption habbits they switch to minimalism and it works for them, that's awesome! But you don't have to make that switch if you don't want to! It's totally possible to have healthy consumption habbits while being a maximalist Just wanted to add this to overall great video:)
People who claim that underconsumption core is "poverty core" show an alarming lack of understanding how poverty works and how deeply they themselves are already stuck in consumerism, if they think that owning 40 pairs of shoes and buying third-rate sweatshop clothing every week is normal.
As somebody who grew up in poverty as a child and now is an adult conscious consumer, I find it so offensive when people say intentionally buying less and using things until they break is somehow bottom of the barrel. The point of having money isn’t to spend it and have more stuff than you need. It’s the safety net and knowing that you have something to fall back on when life gets in the way. I live a little better than when I was a kid, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve adopted social media’s image of living well
Don't know where people think underconsumption is considered "fetishizing poverty" or "recession core". Poverty and recessions are complex issues than underconsumption. True underconsumption would be using things until they break or can't be fixed anymore, buying what we need instead of buying what we want, and using your money efficiently that you can save it for the future. Underconsumption should be a norm, not a trend. For too long, we allow social media and influences justify ridiculous purchases that no one can afford. If underconsumption can actually help with the economy and the overall environment, I'm all for it.
I don't get how it's "under" consumption, though. What is it under? Wouldn't using things until they break and can't be fixed, and only buying what we need just be the correct amount of consumption?
Because we have no choice. It's not a trend for us. I get under $700 in a fixed income, and have never worked for more than minimum wage. This has the same vibes as affluent people moving to cities and then complaining about how expensive everything is.
@@ArchIVEDCinema it's only under consumption when you compare it to the excessive amounts of stuff people are used to buying and seeing people buy on social media. For me this is just normal. I have never been on a shopping binge for anything in my life. I will buy products that I use regularly and will buy one or two extra if they are discounted, but that's it.
Agreed, plus anyone could become poor if they don’t manage their spending habits. People who earn fortunes but squander them on stuff can end up with very little indeed
@@ArchIVEDCinema If we're aiming for the opposite of OVERconsumption, then UNDERconsumption just makes sense. Even if the wording isn't _completely_ accurate
I just think everything does not need to be an aesthetic or “core”
Seriously. Yes. She is still part of the problem.
#humancore
@@Mlork972wait she literally discussed this concept and its semantics. Did you watch the video?
Yes, but this is a cronically online Tiktoker kind of problem. I don't know a single person who cares about this in real life. Maybe most people I know still have some sense.
It does for some people. Frugality is not fun so dressing it up as an aesthetic weirdly helps enjoy not spending money. Also, it helps breaking shopping addiction habits and allows people to feel more gratitude towards what they already have.
I’ll never forget when a girl at the gym asked me where I got my hat because she liked the way it looked “old and use” when in reality it was just an old, used hat 😂
😅
My husband is a great example of underconsumption which has nothing to do with poverty. His family is quite well-off, he’s got a decent job and never faced a lack of money. But some of his T-shirts are over 7 years old and he only spends on essentials and on the things that really bring him joy.
On the contrary, me coming from a kinda poor background have a need to overconsume to prove myself something
Yeah it’s the same with me. My fiancé grew up middle class and I’m working class. I used to spend way too much on expensive clothes when I could for a while, but my fiancé only buys good quality necessities. It’s hard to resist when I finally had some money in my 20s. I wish I would have saved for a down payment for a house instead of partying and buying expensive shit 😢 growing up poor never teaches one to handle money later in life. I never got allowance money as a kid
By cutting out the things he doesn't want to pay for he frees up his money to focus on the things he enjoys. I generally wear out my shirts as well but they never last 7 year (damn thick body hair). But that leaves me free to spend my money without fear of overdrafting or putting money on credit cards. I can go to the store and not have to worry about putting things back, i can splurge on going out to eat when i don't feel like cooking. I have an emergency fund that allows me to avoid the stress of things randomly breaking or use that money to assist family members when they run into difficult spots financially. Is a closet full of new shirts and shoes really worth having to scramble to borrow money to pay for a broken car or a new water heater?
Borrowing money increases the cost of items you pay for compounding the overall cost of those emergencies.
Is it truly unusual to have shirts that long?
Is it a woman thing or is it a poor background thing? just asking.
Just described my partner and I 😂🫶 Not allowing myself things I actually need has been a problem for me though, cause I fear spending money overall. He on the other hand knows what he needs, buy only that and are not afraid of doing so 😢❤
Though a lot of “underconsumption” is just not falling for trends and having a ton of stuff we don’t need, some of it involves repurposing and thrifting. I think that’s so important, since there’s so much fast fashion waste and plastic consumption. It’s sad things like upcycling are happening partially due to trends, but if a few videos are giving that movement traction then that’s fine by me!
@@meganmitchell6787
This trend literally defeats the purpose of under consumption. I wish people championed individual personality, and taste like they do water bottle accessories, and water activated hand towels.
I agree, especially because I think a lot of the people who are over-consuming are doing it on credit cards and can't actually afford what they're doing- they're buying things they don't need instead of having an emergency fund for example. When people have plenty of money and are just purposely being super minimalist just to act superior, as if somehow they are more spiritual than people who like nice things, that's a little bit annoying, but I don't think it's actually that common. I don't know anybody in real life who is like that.
i feel like underconsumption is promoting being aware of what your using and how much you use, which is a great start to reducing your everyday purchases and to start thinking about what you buy and why. its a great way to start moving away from this "buy buy buy" culture.
Instead of following an underconsumption trend, just quit following trends at all. Stop giving a damn what others think and use your money for yourself and your future.
I think everyone is sick of being sold to, being made to feel inadequate if they don't have the latest and greatest thing. I'm all for spending less, using what you have, thrift store shopping and living below your means! Be you, stop trying to be someone else because chances are, that person you see on social media or other places is not who they really are. Something I've noticed for myself is thinking "I should go to TJMaxx" or "I should go thrift store shopping" and then talking myself out of it because I need NOTHING.
Great and thought-provoking analysis! As a person who prefers the mundane, the one issue I have with underconsumption/minimalism/whatever-the-term-may-be is that it seems to equate living with a beige-esque aesthetic. I neither buy much nor often. But when I do I love strong colours and both form & function. Also, thank you for the quote “pessisism does not breed progress”.
I completely agree. Would love to see someone who does both ❤ We could have a colourfull & warm home, filled with only the items we actually need. That is what I am aiming for ❤
I agree with your sentiment, I am a minimalist and I wear all my favourite colours (mustard yellow, burnt orange, emerald green, aubergine, etc) and bold prints. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing, just wear what you love so long as you are not over buying.
@@Fnugilet I do both and I love it.
I'm in my 40s ("Oregon Trail Generation") and this under consumption "trend" looks like the middle class of my childhood. We never flew anywhere (my first flight was to basic training), a family road trip every few years, countertop appliances and linens were from when my parents got married 20 years prior. We had school shoes and gym shoes, we had hand-me-down friends. We got some new clothes at the mall in August. I got CDs and books at the library. We weren't poor.
It might be how they were raised. My parents were very fair with how many toys/treats/trips we got growing up. Anecdotally, the kid I nanny for isn’t insanely rich but is very spoiled, and she expects to get a brand new G wagon for her 16th birthday. I don’t have the heart to tell her that her parents definitely aren’t going to go that big. 😂
Exactly, and we were way happpier! Wayyyy, wayyyy happier.
Same!!!
Same generation here just slightly later. I was poor. I stand by your statement. We made do.
Same. Was raised middle-class/poor. And not having something knew or fitting, like my bike or clothes, anymore for a while were just how it was. Pants too small? Now they're shorts 😂 We had food and a roof over our heads and lots of stuffed animals ❤❤
I'm sick and tired of people complaining abt underconsumption. Literally nothing is good. "Weeeeh, this is just how I live, weeeeh" that's the point. Like, people shoving excess at us: BAD, THAT'S BAD. People sharing their normal lives not burdened by need to buy 1000 of one thin: BAD, THAT'S BAD. Jesus.
Also, underconsumption isn't exclusive to being poor. It's about not succumbing to overconsumption and ads.
This is legit first video I've seen that doesn't lean into desperate arguments against it just to seem more profound. Instead it is just a nice, intelligent commentary with no need to one up someone.
@@RamenzillaX It's not rebranded. It is just what it is called on tiktok because tiktok trends are called "cores". That's just how you tag stuff. It is "under" consumption as opposed to "OVER" consumption- and many people put open disclaimers as in "actually just normal consumption". Words do have meaning and these mean just fine. It's a trend about spending, not about food. If you go by the food metaphor... you're wrong. You shouldn't do that. You can't just go "this word means this in this completely different setting, so I'll be mad that according to that setting, it is wrong to be used here".
Also, minimalism and underconsumption aren't one at the same, at all. It is not a rebrand, it is 2 separate things.
You ok?
@@Kc-dq7zj yeah I just have lots of feelings, im fine tho
Underconsumption, in an economic sense, is consuming less product than is produced - or living below your means. Poverty, in economics, is more like "restricted consumption" because the poor don't have the financial power to either under or overconsume in the same way.
@@lulupomegranate*though. Spell like an educated person.
I bought a house out in the woods a little less than a year ago. I've started keeping all my food waste in a drywall bucket (that I found in the garage from the previous owner) and collecting bagged grass from when I mow the lawn to make compost out of to use for gardening. I've been thinking about how I'm gonna build a bin for my compost pile, but arlier today, I noticed that there were some random bricks laying around the yard from the previous owner, so I stacked them in a little 4'×4' square to put my pile in. I looked up how to start a compost pile, and apparently you want a base layer of high-carbon material, like wood. I then realized that I've been cutting and splitting firewood out of trees that came down in my yard from recent storms, and there's tons of wood/bark scraps in the area that I've been splitting the wood. So I used that for my base layer.
This doesn't have much to do with the video. It's just that I was doing all this literally earlier today and I thought it felt kinda cool to be able to find ways to use all these bits of otherwise waste
I see you
I love that. I also have a house in the woods and do a similar thing when I weed - I don’t have grass but when I pull out invasive nonnative plants, I drop them to decompose and enrich the soil. And I use fallen branches and rocks in projects. I think this sort of thing connects you to the earth.
composting is really great. I see all these yard debris bins and i see people slowly giving away their own good topsoil. I understand that occasionally you will have more debris than you can handle but things like lawn clippings should just be mulched and put back on the lawn, then you spend less on fertilizers in the spring.
I live in a travel trailer and boondock on BLM land in the west of the US. Each year I set a goal and try to make my life easier/better. This year was to make less trash. I am doing ok - found some clever ways to reuse materials that would otherwise be called trash but still create way too much IMO. I think I will be doing the same thing again next year.
@@2avcrm That's awesome! I thought you could only stay a max of 14 days on BLM land? Or do you move around?
So many good quotes in this video to think about! I love "what you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while"
overconsumption: ⛔
underconsumption: ⛔
hoarding cheap 20-30 year old goods from the golden era of humanity: ✅
😂😂😂 are you a boomer? Definitely keep items that are still good and useful to you. Don't fall into the trap of keeping stuff for "just in case". I have a set of pasta bowls that are about 20 years old, I have only broken one in all that time, but they are now all scratched up and looking bad, so I will be replacing them soon, it's getting embarrassing serving people with those dishes 😂😂😂😂
As a thrifter, I approve this.
And I still regret not buying that $6 1980s purple velvet dress.
Epicurus said: Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little. 💪
Honestly I don’t think it really matters if it’s deemed underconsumption or normal consumption (a rose by any other name would smell as sweet)- I think anyone promoting the ideals of less waste and less desire for “things” in a society/internet culture that tells us to strive for more is doing good work. Romanticizing contentment for what we have and getting more out of life than just things to buy is a beautiful idea and while not new, I love that people are sharing their experiences.
Yes!!!
Under consumption inherently implies you are consuming less than you should as opposed to buying only what is needed and spending wisely.Underconsumption promotes spending by pretending it doesn't. It's a mental trick.
Buying what is needed and spending wisely is called being frugal.
I never connected with the 2010s minimalism movement; I have an emotional attachment to my things (especially old things) and I didn’t want to live in a sterile, empty, gray house but I also sure as hell didn’t connect with the insane “restock” and overconsumption trend. They both sucked (for me). So I’m all for just using what you have, repairing what you can and replacing things with second hand items as much as is practicable. It’s not rocket science. Most of the world has no choice but to live this way so I think just “living within your means” should be the standard.
I like the overall message and think it's a net positive, my main nitpick is I'm an old ass millennial and find the labeling of every innocuous lifestyle choice as a "-core" trend to be incredibly annoying, lol. I'm happy to see someone is positive because I am not. I think "extravagance" will always be a popular form of escapism, that the pressure to keep up appearances and/ascend socioeconomically will never go away, and that the people who can afford not to are generally more economically privileged anyway.
Cara thank you so much for everything you do, you've taught me so much about being more intentional with my spending, how to critically analyse what I want to buy and why. I have ADHD and it's something I've always struggled with. I spent most of my early 20s being reckless with spending and getting into debt, but now I'm making sure that every dollar I make is allocated. It's a work in progress, but I'm doing so much better.
I’m so glad to hear that and thank you for your comment ♥️ just made my day!
I love this trend but I hate the name. As a Gen Xer I’m so sick of everything being called “core” or “aesthetic”. In the 80s most of these habits were normal. Then everything started going sideways post Y2K. Back then we called it frugality. Our clothes were hand me downs, our cars were second hand, homes were more modest and we only got clothes at Back to school, Birthdays or Christmas. We could count the number of times we ate out per year on one hand. I’d love see a return to these things.
Underconsumption core sounds like normal living.
But calling under consumption normalizes consumerism and sets it up for the next over consumption marketing phase.
Over and underconsumption are both stressful to me. I’m working to find my balance :)
Take care of the things you already have. Its resisting the "gotta have new" push from every angle
Wow, you just popped as one of my shorts but you got me realising stuff. I have already lived the minimalistic( yet artsy and hippie) life and it was hard for me to explain why I do this. I desired more money for my travelling- so I can admit I met my goals
even if it stops being a "trend" there will be people for whom it has affected their day to day habits and how they think about spending money and using things and that is a net positive. I've always been a person who uses things until they wear out and I'm thrilled to see this becoming more prominent on social media
Good question on whether or not this is a pendulum swing bound to go in the other direction. It was bizarre to see a minimalist influencer I’d followed for 5 years started promoting Amazon links! It’s hard to stay balanced when you’re a human with changing hobbies, interests, and likes.
You explain this whole thing so beautifully in so many different directions❤
We would not need underconsumption if unabashed mindless overconsumption didn’t get called out in social media. From a personal standpoint I never shopped Amazon prior to the pandemic I didn’t have time to watch TH-cam before then either. Moving from an office to full time telework gave me time. And I noticed then how many videos were of massive collections of makeup and clothes with no context. Of constant decluttering and seasonal junk decor. That is not sustainable in any form, it is not healthy for the actual consumer, it is stressful, wasteful and all the other words like these. There should be no need to underconsume anything. We need to just stop letting ourself be played for some algorithm. Make your life about living and being present and enjoying what you have. Actually enjoy putting on makeup- enjoy your clothes and everything and take time not a lot but time to make yourself presentable everyday. And if you are decluttering don’t be too fast to rid yourself of quality items that you didn’t use in a year or more. You will never be able to replace them.😢 0:15
My opinion on fetishizing poverty is that people ALREADY DO THAT. I have had multiple conversations with my own family members where they love to flaunt being poor.
(Background: we grew up poor but I have been very lucky and I was able to save money to buy a house, nice car, etc. but the rest of my immediate family is still quite poor)
I think looking at wealthy people is inspiring. They think they’re all the devil. And I’m not talking about the kardashians. Im talking about the people with beautiful homes who have a pool in the backyard lol
As a brazilian I have to say this, the "underconsumption core" trend is basically the same thing as "living in the global south".
What you call "underconsumption" or "minimalism" has already existed since hundreds of years in Indian households. This is very normal for us. Indian families buy things value for money. Means they will buy something which should last them long , means less money spent over the years and less pollution.
As a Pole, I find it really weird that somebody thinks this is new and different.
That is so much in our culture that seeing this considered discovery is very entertaining
As a side note, I am obsessed with the fact that Teen Vogue has put out some pretty serious, hard hitting articles in the past 10 years or so
As a person that has tried staying off social media and comparing myself to others, as well as adopting a minimalist/sustainable life since the pandemic…I LOVE underconsumption core. Just show the normal, mundane parts of life.
Not everything we do has to be put on the internet for others to see. I feel like 90% of the things people own or do is to show off to others on the internet. So if you do want to show off your under/normal consumption, do it! Show to people that there is more to life than consuming stuff and destroying the planet. I love this trend.
And the people that have a problem with it and say it’s glorifying poverty and/or pick me status…please go touch some grass. This is to show that you don’t HAVE to consume too much when you don’t live under the poverty line. Let people live their lives and romanticize the ordinary.
Because it’s beautiful. ❤
Do I like the trend that romanticises owning less, using old, fixing instead of buying new, thrifting instead of buying? Hell YES.
Yes, it sucks that it has to be an aesthetic to make people change, but i am so glad for our planet that this is a great step in the right direction
I wish you'd have brought up the gatekeeping in Underconsumption core where people will say you have too much stuff to do 'Underconsumption core'. I've seen people attack a family of 5 for having "too much food to be Underconsumption core" when it was a sane amount of food for a family of 5 to have, they aren't satisfied until you look like you are struggling financially, or ever. I would have loved to see your opinion on that.
everything goes to extremes, similar to the minimalist movement from 10 years ago. starts off just buy less and only what you need to throw out everything and have nothing
I think this is a cycle. People are reflecting on their spending habits mostly because of the economy we are in. But as soon as things get better and easier and people start to feel richer, some of them are definitely going to spend more and move again towards the overconsumption end of the scale.
Tbh Americans need this including myself
I love when people give names to things we, at third world countries like mine, have been doing for all our lives. I can't remember a time when i did not cut the toothpaste tube in half to use it all the way, just to give one example
Most Americans do not live like social media implies; inequality is quite extreme here (check the Gini coefficient for a lark), but prices don’t vary as much as you might expect with very different regional wages in the continental US. That ends up meaning things which are totally unattainable to most of us are just fifteen mintues’ wages in certain markets. People in the rest of the country (and probably the world) watch this media and are fooled into thinking it’s normal, but in the US they’re usually too ashamed to talk about that mismatch, because we put so much social status on having money.
That said, in the US in general, most of the things you need to live are expensive relative to wages (rent, the ability to transport yourself to work or school, education), the things you might want but don’t need at all are cheap relative to wages as compared to the rest of the world (alcohol, electronics and consumer goods, home furnishings.) One weird exception - staple groceries are mostly *very* cheap, as long as you only ever want to eat bland carbohydrates cooked from scratch. But access to varied fresh produce, on the other hand, is mostly a luxury, and usually priced accordingly to local wages across the US because of the short shelf life.
I do this now. I get half my daughter get the other half😂. We also use baking soda!
Underconsumption is a social media trend, so it's not here to stay. In reality, which differs from social media, it's here to stay for a lot of people because it's normal consumption.
I've talked with friends about this trend and the characteristics of it were shown in our childhood and even now as adults.
Thank you for this video! This is the best commentary on this trend I have seen so far!
I’ve been trying to be intentional about all the things I’m purchasing by asking myself ‘do I want to pay to have this item shipped 2000 miles’ because we have one year left in our current place until we move.
I was waiting for you to cover this topic!
I was doing under consumption in my twenties out of necessity. I liked the simplicity of my living space and the ease of a minimal wardrobe.
"Undercunsumption core" is a good trend, but it's horrifying that it is a trend, and it is horrifying that we are becoming so sheepish that we spend our energy on following influencers and trends, instead of using our own grey matter.
No wonder mental health is going down the drain.
This stuff starts making me feel old, I'm 26 and I cannot fathom how this is where we have gotten with our normalization of over-consumption of hot garbage.
It's using what you have. It is finding a piece of furniture by the road that needs a coat of paint or a new cushion. I got a chaise lounge chair and just so happened to be the day the neighbors a few houses up had their pest control guy there. So I asked very demure and very mindful if he could help me load it. Got a free inspection of it too 😊
Thank you 💙
This is hilarious and also awesome, congratulations on your bedbug-free new furniture!
The only warning I have for those underconsumption core influencers is that make-up products have an expiration date once opened. Pass that date, bacteria can develop and cause infections or rashes. Underconsumption should be about priotising what you need vs what you want. It's doesn't need to be a flex about owning only one or a few of a thing. It's also about learning skills like sewing and basic repair skills so you can keep your belongings longer.
I have a lot of stuff. And I need to make more of an effort to use it all more. But I'm working on my shopping habits so I ultimately buy less this upcoming year. Because I have more than enough. I don't think there is any point in purging all of these things and trying to become a minimalist. I am happy being a maximalist. I just need to be happy with not overconsuming and just focusing on making the most of what I have.
Omg I've been living this core my whole life and not by choice lol 😆
As long as the consumer isn't deprived or indirectly putting themselves at risk of harm (e.g. wearing shoes with collapsed soles such that you may develop ankle problems, or only having 1 pair of shoes which develops an odor over time) I could definitely see a place for this trend. That being said, everything in moderation
Unfer consumption is just another form of living below your means wich is altamitly really good because if somthing happens emergency wise that would normally cost you a lot of money you will have more money to help fivht that problem that gets thrown your way
Differentiating between need and want is something I learned as a child decades ago. Not giving a bleep what 'aesthetic' or 'core' are fashionable now (ugh I hate how these terms are used) and dressing stylishly in what I already have should not be a 'trend'. Not buying bleep you don't need. All of this ought to be taught to everyone. But, life and internet be as they are, this trend may actually teach the kids something, and overall that's a positive thing if any of it sticks.
Loved the video, but wanted to argue that overconsuption and micro trends have nothing to do with maximalism. Maximalism, true maximalism, is about having a lot meaningful things for a long time, keeping heirlooms, DIYing stuff when you want more. Both minimalism and maximalism can be victims of overconsuption, but at its core both od them are about ones own relationship with their possessions outside of capitalism and both are valid.
I think "underconsumption core" is too small to actually be much of anything right now. As a society we are still very much in the maximillism upswing that was started during the pandemic. I'm very happy to see people recognizing that micro trends are horrible for our wallets and the planet, but it still feels like a very small drop in the sea of consumerism that is everywhere around us right now. I also do agree that a large part of where this trend is coming from is people realizing that the aspirational lifestyles they see online are not reality, and that the creators they see who are hauling new things every week are paid to do so, while the consumer is paying to do it. This is becoming a more well known thing, so the combat is showing more "normal" consumer habits
The future is DIY-Artisanal-core, the plebs just haven't caught up yet.
A punk refresh of some kind would be amazing
It sounds like a "minimalism" rebrand, which is food because every generation has to find the "voice" that speaks to it.
Minimalism, budgeting, frugality, all terms that fit their era.
I also felt like it was more about being environmentally conscious. Like a mix of not wasting your money on stuff you actually don’t need, being more minimalistic and not polluting more than need be.
With all the global warming talk it’s not really surprising.
Honestly I think for some people "underconsumption core" is just part of the cycle of overconsumption. For some people it is legitimately recognizing how much stuff you actually use, but for others. It seens like a rebrand of "decluttering" and decluttering is not the opposite of over consumption it's a part of it. You overconsume, purge it during a decluttering phase and then have more space to overconsume again
love your more psychological take on this trend!
Well, again ahead of time as a minimalist
People saying it's 'glorifying poverty' are something else, man. They gotta be _so_ for real. No one wants to be poor, lmfao. If the opposition to child labor/slavery, wasting resources, pollution and capitalist destruction, is UnDeRCoNSuMpTiOnCoRE then everybody better stfu-
I needed to hear this. I’ve been living for the weekend and vacay!
I feel like one can both experience powerty and under/overconsumtion. Yes, they might intersect however they may also not. I grew up below middle class and I saw completely different consumption behaviors around me: some were buying cheap winter coats not being able to afford good ones, and my family was shopping in thrift stores and was not ashamed of taking a chair someone put in a street as a trash. My mother was concerned about ecology and found wise to give things second life simply because one can and it’s also fun.
You can still be overconsuming in poverty, that’s what I want to say. Consumption behavior is a choice, even if yes influenced by the poverty or it’s absence.
I feel a lot of the criticism for underconsumption comes from the “core” ification of it all. But ultimately I think it’s a good thing. Like you said cultivating gratitude and getting off the hamster wheel of always needing something new is good for the planet, your wallet, and ultimately, in my opinion, your mental health.
I like the idea of underconsumption, and try to live like that myself, but the danger is with making it an aesthetic. Especially when you have an influencer that switches from hauls to underconsumption core. Where is all their stuff going? Are they just chucking it out to adhere to the new “core”?
I think that the debate that people are having about under consumption versus over consumption is because we spend too much time on the Internet and because of a lack of understanding of the concepts of denotation and connotation.
Clearly on TikTok the connotation of underconsumption is when an individual performs behaviour which counters overconsumption. So when someone is overconsuming they might buy so much more make up or food or clothing than they could ever use but when somebody underconsumes they only buy those things which they can use and make sure to repair them until they can't use them anymore.
Outside of the Internet however , the denotation of underconsumption is that you are consuming less than you are meant to be or below the available supply. It means that you are not consuming enough food, clothing and or other things that you may need in life. People do not choose to underconsume, it is often cause by a lack of access/ purchasing power. The spirit of what people are trying to express here would be more accurately reflected in phrasing such as conscious consumption, in which an individual chooses to buy what only that which they will use and repair it until unusable e.t.c. Keyword here is choose because people can go into debt to purchase things.
I think the frustration that people who live in poverty feel because behaviours they've had no choice but to engage in, is valid - as some underconsumption-core videos seemingly glamorise these behaviours and some of the people doing so seem to either be jumping on a trend or aren't sincere. The satire videos that have emerged perfectly illustrate this.
Unfortunately, I think undercomsumption-core is already on it's way out 😭 I'm hearing less and less about it, however I do not occupy TikTok space.
I think where Americans need this the most is when it comes to vehicles. There are plenty of $5-10k cars out there that will last you years without any major problems, but so many feel they deserve a new car and sign up for terrible payments at a dealership
You could do an eight hour series on this exact topic and I’d watch the whole thing, but I appreciate your professional concision.
I think this is the first time I haven’t been frustrated by the lack of historical context discussing the origin of the word. Underconsumption probably caught on for symmetry to overconsumption as you cited, but it does have a formal meaning regarding economic conditions in which consumption doesn’t rise to overproduction.
Considering the proportion of everything made that ends up in landfills, we *should* want to underconsume relative to the present rate of production, until production falls to reasonable, sustainable levels. Until then, we’re just mining fuels and materials so that we can manufacture things people mostly don’t buy so that we can ship them away again and bury them as polluting waste somewhere else - people have to spend most of their lives participating in this planet-killing makework, instead of providing the labor for things people actually do need to live and thrive, it’s totally nuts.
Thanks for the video! I think this is the first look at underconsumption core that I totally agree with. A lot of the people looking at underconsumption core criticized it for being a trend instead of a lifestyle and just being normal consumption. But, like you said, it's a reaction to the overconsumption shown online and is underconsumption by comparison. Also, the people participating in the trend have already been living that way for years. You don’t get worndown towels and mostly used makeup products overnight. Why shouldn't people living that way get to romanticize their lives just as much as the overconsumption girlies? And the trend can change the way we view under consumption as a whole. I personally started under consuming for a lot of reasons. I care about labor rights and the environment; I was tired of the rollercoaster of spending and regretting it; I disagree with many companies' practices and don't want to support them (boycotting amazon, etsy, shein, temu, and nestle kind of forces you to consume less), and finally I'm about to finish grad school and looking at not living in poverty for the first time in my life, so I want to develop a better relationship to money. If this trend helps get more people off the spending roller coaster, I'm so here for it. Do you think you could make a video for people about to have more money than they're used to? The jobs Ive had over the summers and that I will have after I graduate are four times higher salary than Ive ever had before. Im worried that my subsistance living mindset will not be useful anymore.
There might be some people on social media who remain this way, but once they realize that the big bucks come from sponsorships and nobody wants to sponsor someone who isn't buying from them, they'll either stop social media or switch back to peddling whatever a brand deal tells them to promote. I think in that sense, this is just a trend. Very few are likely doing it as an honest lifestyle.
I don't think the clean girl aesthetic could really be considered as a precursor to underconsumption core since, while the clothing, hairstyles and makeup are simpler, that trend focused on intense skincare regimens that required a ton of different products. It was also very much not limited to the person's appearance and lead to people overhauling not only their makeup bags and closet, but entire living space and daily use items (aesthetic fridges, smoothie tumblers, water bottles, yoga mats etc.) The list of things one needed to purchase to get the clean girl look and lifestyle was exhaustive and using items to the point they were finished and visibly needing to be replaced was not part of the look.
I have a stick bronzer, and there’s still a bit left way at the bottom. You have to dig it out. Imma use up every ounce before I open my new one!
Damn, in at 1 minute!
woohoo!!
I quite like the idea of romanticizing healthy buying habits. I take lots of staged pictures of my living space that I could probably post to underconsumption core trends, but just for fun. As you said, its a great thing to take joy in the mundane
in The Millionaire Nect Door, he speaks to living under your means as a tool for building wealth. it's a fairly old book (circa late 90's), but the messaging stands
I just ignore these aesthetics and trends as they’re happening, and I don’t learn about them until these deep dive videos come out. I’m kind of exhausted just hearing about this excessive sharing of people’s lives. How does anyone keep up with these things as they’re happening? It’s nauseating.
i really like this video! you make some v valid and convincing points ☺️
I think any time a new audience gets introduced to conscious consumerism, it’s a good thing. Does the name make me cringe? Yes. Does the focus on aesthetics make me roll my eyes? Also, yes. But I think the benefits outweigh my personal gripes with it.
Its mainly people's spending capacity that determines trends aswel
An issue with this concept is the trend itself, as in people actively virtue signalling common sense. It might not glorify poverty, but certainly some off-putting righteousness. ‘Underconsumption Core’ seems like a spectacularly noble title for simple mindfulness. This trend will die off the same way all the others did within this ADD inducing social media environment.
PLEASE do the "why renting isn't throwing your money away" video PLEASE. Because it takes me like 1 hour to explain to people why I'm actually being financially savvy by renting FOR NOW.
@Cara Nicole
Once again another well delivered well thought and deployed video essay. Peeling back the onion layers on this really does gets one thinking. Lately in life I feel the advantages gained of the minimalist path. I believe in investing and saving vs overconsumption and but culture. When I was younger I used to where designer clothes. latest phone. Now a buy a mid entry run it for four years. I wear two pairs of shoes. Only dress now in workgear like my carrhart jacket and my work wear as my streetwear. Light furnishings. I'd rather build my own pc and doesn't have a flashy case with RGB. As I suppose I am not caught up with showing off material things but rather seek and desire personal comfort and needs from the various products I use. In life you learn to become thrifty and the value in it. As always you take an interesting deep dive into intricacies of your content! Glad I subscribed.
Great video! ❤
I got a bicycle for free many years ago. Now it's getting some issues here and there. So I told my friend (who has less money than I do) I want it to be fixed. "Why don't you buy a new one?" I'm sorry for what?
Who's your video editor? Subtle but very impactful.
I hope that underconsumption continues on for longer knowing how short internet trends are lol. Also, i worry about influencers who “want to join the trend” and may throw away their overconsumption just to join said “trend”. But the idea of underconsumption is great!
It’s just minimalism with a different name
You make some good points and I like your videos, but you seem to be conflating maximalism with overconsumption and minimalism with underconsumption. There is overlap, sure, but it's definitely possible to be maximalist in a conscious/underconsumerist/sustainable way (thrifting, getting your items over a long period of time, and using things for a long time), and you can be minimalist in a wasteful, overconsumerist way (the cycle of buying-decluttering-buying-decluttering, decluttering irresponsibly, etc).
I do like the trend, and if it made some people more conscious of their consumption habits and showed what is 'normal' vs all the excess, it's a win.
i disagree that it's recession-core, bc consuming less is for everyone if you want to. i'm not poor but i don't like owning a ton of crap that is going to end up in a landfill, so i prefer timeless items that will last a long time. in our kitchen we use my grandmother's dining table and chairs i grew up with, i use her old lagostina pots that will literally last our entire lives. i repair clothes when i can with her old sewing machine bc i don't want to contribute to fashion waste (and i want to love my clothes for longer). for me it's not about the aesthetic but the philosophy of not making our planet worse, as much as you realistically can fit into your lifestyle. sure i do wasteful things sometimes but it's impossible to do it perfectly- so i believe cut down where you can and try to do what's best for you and not care about keeping up w everyone else.
oh all that and i find owning a bunch of stuff i don't use kind of stressful bc it takes up mental space just nagging at me to deal with it. for example if i don't end up liking a makeup product i will try to find someone (friends, colleagues) who want it. get it out of my drawer but try to make it go to use lol
This is the same thing that happened with millennials and the popularity of brands like glossier & minimalism in reaction to what came before it.
The biggest difference from other trends for me is the fallout of it. Underconsumption has mostly no bad consequences and that is definitely not the case for other trends...
Just remember, time is money and when you buy new items, you’re exchanging your literal life force (time spent making the money) for a good/service. Just think, is it really worth it?
Maybe your time is worth buying a new item rathering than glorifying the act of thrifting/repurposing old items which need cleaning, fixing, etc. Maybe your time is better spent buying a new item once and moving on.
So they just made a fancier name for minimalism?
I think that's not the same bacause minimalism also has its aesthetics. But there's probably overlap about the basic ideas behind it.
Another banger 🔥🔥
Interesting how we move to clean girl and underconsumption but in terms of interior decor and architecture we are moving towards more of a maximalist or classic style
After taking a little stroll, mulling over this video, I think the problem is actually with the word overconsumption. Unless you are morbidly obese, few people actually over consume. Instead, they demonstrate a hoarder mentality. Meaning, they accumulate items that they never or rarely use or enjoy. The only difference is that they have neat display shelves and buy bigger houses to store their hoards (not hauls).
I'm all for changing the current culture of overconsumption, but i think it's not really accurate to equate maximalism with overconsumption. Sure, it can be related and probably is in many cases. But if you love maximalist house decor, you can achieve than with normal consumption (or underconsumption, whatever you want to call it). I've been accumulating decor pieces over the years, to achieve a room that feels, to some degree, like extension of myself because that is what i like. That's how my creativity is presenting in my life. If someone likes minimalist decor, lifestyle, wardrobe or whatever then good for them. If while changing their consumption habbits they switch to minimalism and it works for them, that's awesome! But you don't have to make that switch if you don't want to! It's totally possible to have healthy consumption habbits while being a maximalist
Just wanted to add this to overall great video:)