For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Quite possibly one of the only things I retained from high school physics. I couldn’t help but think about Newton’s third law of motion when I discovered a trending audio on Instagram titled, “I love stuff.” A few months ago I wondered how long it would take for there to be a reaction to the "no buy” movement. Not long at all.
The original video and audio is by an interior designer who states she’ll never give up on the delusion that someday she’ll become a minimalist. There are over 20k other Reels using the audio. There’s videos with closets full of clothes, collections of bags, cupboards filled to the brim, impeccably decorated interiors, and young girls showing off their hoards of beauty products.
Initially my reaction to it all was “WTF.” I wonder if any of this even matters. Does anybody really care about buying less stuff or being a more mindful consumer? Because if you spend any amount of time on the internet it’s abundantly clear that “stuff” is still very much winning. The majority of the top fashion and beauty newsletters on Substack are selling stuff. The most popular content on Instagram and TikTok is filled with people selling, promoting, and acquiring stuff. Stuff sells.
I get it. When things feel bleak it makes sense to reach for the quickest way to feel good. It’s a lot easier to sell this season’s “must-haves” than it is to sell the idea that it’s actually not stuff you need to feel better. And when we live in a country that provides no safety net (no healthcare, no childcare, no paid time off) and is simultaneously taking away our rights, freedom, and bodily autonomy, it also makes sense that a natural reaction would be to take the “yolo” approach. Everything sucks, might as well just buy the dress(es)!
And, I love stuff too. I love the antique dresser in my living room from my Grandmother. I love the artwork in our house. I love my wardrobe (or most of it anyway). It’s not necessarily that loving stuff is the problem. It’s the way it’s been prioritized over actual people. There’s bags to decorate bags and charms to decorate phones. And the internet might make that seem cute, but when our government is dehumanizing people while brands are humanizing objects to get us to buy more stuff, it doesn’t really have the same charm. Pun intended.
Stuff is fine. But stuff isn’t going to save us.