Trends & Consumerism

According to Investopedia.com, consumerism is defined as “the tendency of people living in a capitalist economy to engage in a lifestyle of excessive materialism that revolves around reflexive, wasteful, or conspicuous overconsumption.” In other words, consumerism is the idea that we must keep buying new things. Consumerism and excessive buying of products can be a waste of resources like money and materials. It can be bad for both your bank account and the environment.

A recent trend of consumerism among youths these days is the use of various water bottles. Some of those water bottles include Hydro Flasks, Owalas, Stanleys, etc. Although all of these water bottles serve the same purpose and have about the same efficiency, youths continue to buy these new brands, following the trend. Each of these water bottles costs around at least $30~$40.

Junior Niamat Kudlagi owns one of those water bottles and claimed it was worth the purchase. “Most of the trendy items I’ve bought were worth the purchase but I did think they were a bit overpriced simply because they were trendy.” When asked whether trends affect her purchasing decisions, she replied, “Trends sometimes affect me… It really depends on the product. If I think it’s worth the hype then I may get it but if not then I won’t.”

If I’m being honest, I feel quite tempted by all of these trends too. When I heard about the Owala water bottles, I considered buying one of them, even though my current water bottle works just fine. I ended up just sticking to my current water bottle, knowing this water bottle trend would soon pass anyway. If I’m being honest, I thought some of the Owala bottles looked pretty ugly anyway.

Regarding trends and purchasing, junior Bella Tsao also stated how they influence her. “I own some of the trending items like Owalas and Uggs. I’ve purchased Lululemon prior to the trend though.” She claimed they were mostly worth the purchase, maybe except for the Lululemons. “I like the Owala and Uggs a lot. I think Lulus are cute but they’re too expensive.”

Although these trendy items aren’t exactly necessary, they are trending for a reason; they have good quality and efficiency. So perhaps, if you feel the right opportunity to purchase is here, go for it. Otherwise, judge the products yourself and consider whether it will truly be a beneficial purchase not just for now, but into the future.

Graphic by Miku Mizushima using Canva