| November 13, 2019 | Juan Ibarra | editor-in-chief |
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People wear Airpods, use iPhones and wear Supreme brand clothing just to come across as trendy.
Society has a bad relationship with consumerism. Buying the latest products and showing them off as class status symbols is common practice for consumers.
The latest iPhone was announced recently and is the first iPhone to come with three rear-facing cameras. In a response to that, people have purchased stickers to make their iPhone X’s appear like the iPhone 11 Pro.
Every year when the product cycle refreshes, some are OK with trading in their one-year-old phone even if it has no issues so that they can hop on the newest trend.
The problem isn’t with just Apple, as Samsung and Google use the same tactics to appear like they have the newest and hottest items over the previous years.
Even when these corporations use tactics such as changing subtle phone designs or increasing one part of the camera quality, they sometimes end up undermining those recent product launches.
Google released its Pixel line of phones in late October only to turn around and discount their products by as much as $400 in late November just in time for Black Friday.
Although phones are a major component of this phenomenon, it is not the only industry to do so.
Recently Popeyes has created an almost similar type of hype around its chicken sandwich. After the chicken sandwich grew in popularity in September and sold out, Popeyes hinted at the return of the product over a few weeks. There were reports of customers waiting outside of the restaurant on Nov. 1, the return date of the sandwich.
The promotion hit a fever pitch with a recent news story about a man being stabbed and killed because he cut in line at a Popeyes in Maryland. When events such as this happen, it shows that this level of marketing and hype around “the hottest item on the market” is not okay.
Supreme is a clothing brand that prides itself exclusively on having premium products and selling its name as the product versus the clothing. Supreme is heralded as being one of the most popular in “streetwear.”
Even a sticker with just the Supreme logo on it costs $8.
People are always into buying the next big thing because it is a way to show others how much money one spends or how “cool” someone is. For some people, having the newest phone or the hottest clothing is what makes or breaks their social life.
Humans are living in an era that appreciates peer pressure. When they are in an environment, they want to look like their friends, they want to dress a certain way, talk a certain way and show off a certain way. If one does not follow them, they are left out.
When buying the newest inventions, people expect themselves to be special. But in the end, everybody shares the same idea, and it turns out they are not the most stood-out. If anything, people are losing themselves by chasing the current trends.
Don’t play that game. Fitting in is becoming overrated. When everyone strives to own the newest products, no one is special anymore.
People in society need to create their own personal identity and buy what they like. The products one flaunts do not, have not, and will never define them.
