Is this the core to end all cores? Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of our burning landfill waste, TikTok’s latest ‘underconsumption core’ and satirical sister ‘overconsumption core’ have soared in online popularity. From holey socks to the savaging of Stanley cups, the trending duo encourages viewers to maximise the utility of their purchases and ask, “Do I really need a cinnamon caramel swirl anti-bacterial hand spray keychain?”. Redefining what it means to consume healthily, underconsumption core has brought a long-awaited breath of fresh air to the excessive consumerist lifestyle we’ve become blindly accustomed to. But as the entertainment of the trend fleets away from us, have you truly acknowledged the abundance of self-fulfilling joys that owning less can bring to you?
#Underconsumptioncore
As the first generation to grow up in the technologically dominant era, we must be open to understanding the dangers and abnormalities social media has pushed into our understanding of ‘life’. In the footsteps of 2010 beauty channels and the 2020 aesthetics outbreak, we’ve been taught from a young age to create our ‘brand’ on social media. Like my own pandemic antics, this often involves abiding by an aesthetic as strictly as a fundamentalist religion where everything you own, from your matching pyjama set to your AirPods case, must adhere to your cohesive clean-girl-cottage-academia-core image. While the desire to present our individuality through creative visual fashion isn’t dependent on overconsumption, the hyper-materialistic practices they’ve long since encouraged in our every waking moment seem to have finally driven the internet mad.
“The First Real-Life Aesthetic”
Underconsumption core, the sole ‘core’ to renounce material consumption entirely, has stumped brands and businesses into a profitless shameful silence. While critics of the trend have been quick to point out that underconsumption is often just normal consumption or a romanticisation of poverty, most have simply stood in admiration of the first ‘real life’ aesthetic.
I myself have scrolled desperately in search of some legitimate critique. Expecting overly aggressive activists or influencers who missed the point, I was pleasantly surprised to find nothing but peacefully appreciative individuals sharing upcycling ideas and poking fun at the rare sight of a worn-out make-up palette. While it’s easy to remark that exhausting a pair of shoes should be normal, the distressing reality is it isn’t a common sight on social media. If a TikTok ‘core’ trend can spark encouragement to change that, then I’m all for it.
Living Appreciatively
Living in the 21st century with ever-expanding material opportunities available at the touch of your keyboard has understandably rendered us blind to our most appreciated possessions. Needless to say, the commandment of the consumer culture system is all you’ve ever known. But once you allow yourself to step back, breathe, and start seeing your toaster as the remarkable luxury it is, I guarantee your outlook will be in greater harmony with your talents, instincts, and planet.
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With less fixation on the accumulation of physical mass, your focus turns to heartier habits that undeniably have more long-term value to your internal self. With the time (and money) you gain from a shift to underconsumption, the opportunities to explore your local environment, spend time with friends and family, read a book, exercise, learn an instrument, travel, craft, meet new people and live, simply become… easier.
The ‘Self’ in Self-Fulfilment
The tyranny of choice is here to stay. As long as economic growth is booming, government leaders will never prioritise educational schemes to combat our consumerist habits and excessive waste production. So despite the numerous social science studies demonstrating direct correlations between hyper-consumerist habits and higher depression rates in young people, embracing the freedoms of underconsumption core is left entirely to you. Often interpreted as a sacrifice, consuming less is merely about realigning our material desires to enhance gratitude. Thus, when seeking real and meaningful fulfilment in our own lives, using less is indisputably the way to live more.