Overconsumption
2025-07-25
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A few days ago, a YouTube video about overconsumption appeared in my recommendations.^ The video specifically discussed TikTok overconsumption trends regarding women's purses and handbags, breaking down the excessive number of plastic storage bins featured in the TikTok posts and pointing out that the products they contain are completely unused. While the video was created by a woman and aimed at a female audience, I still learned a lot about what overconsumption on modern social media looks like.
One of the video's main points is that bags have a kind of art all their own. What we carry with us, be it in a pocket, a purse, or a backpack, says something about who we are. If we want to express ourselves in a certain way, the things we take with us, and how we carry them, can play a big part in that expression. French actress Jane Birkin, whose namesake is the Birkin bag, was cited as an example.
The creator also made the observation that many overconsumption videos feature items that seem useful in the moment, but whose cost ultimately far outweighs their utility. This point resonated with me, and after watching the video, I inventoried the items in my own shoulder bag and removed several that I didn't regularly use.
When watching the video itself, however, what stood out to me the most was the nature of the TikToks themselves. I left almost all the major social media sites in 2020, including Reddit and Instagram. The only site I visit semi-regularly now is YouTube, and I've tried to cut back on the amount of content I watch there too. In the month of July I haven't even been reading Gemini much.
As a result, when I see the kind of content that gets shared on Instagram and TikTok, it feels exhausting. Everything is fast, there's continual noise, visuals are bright and oversaturated, everything contains copyrighted music, and the user never has a moment to reflect on the content or let it sink in. It's a constant barrage on the senses, and my brain has to spool up to keep pace with it.
Many of my hobbies today, by comparison, are quite slow. I'm reading a little on my Kobo Clara e-reader each day. Our garden is growing onions and squash this year, and I tend to it daily. Writings are shared on Gemini slowly and with plenty of thought put into them. I have a lot of time to think about what I've read or what I need to do next. It's very serene, and it does me a lot of good.
Even television is too fast for me now. I can't stand sitting in a waiting room at an office while some banal mid-morning show drones on in the background. Going to a restaurant with a bar is even worse, with entire walls of TVs playing different channels simultaneously while music also blares over the speakers.
I don't understand how people can go through life surrounded by all that stimulus every moment of the day and not feel completely overwhelmed. It's small wonder that so many people struggle with anxiety, depression and restless minds.
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[Last updated: 2025-07-25]