The Over Consumption Conversation: The Latest Trend of Offering Complaints and Judgement without Solutions

Verse of the Day: 

1 John 4:16

And we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them.

Before I begin, I’d just like to offer a disclaimer: I’m writing this to provide a perspective on the subject of over consumption that I’ve personally yet to see in media. I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad for how they view the matter, just adding my voice to the narrative in hopes of showcasing a bigger picture

The talk of over consumption has paradoxically become a trend in and of itself. Every two videos I come across on YouTube highly scrutinize those who post large quantities of shopping, collecting, de-cluttering and organizing videos. While these videos may have their hearts in the right place: making the masses aware of the issue of buying more than what is needed or necessary; they all follow a recipe that’s anything but helpful: judgment of an issue with comedic relief and no offer of support or solutions to said problems. 

It’s easier to find a problem than it is to find a way to solve it, and pointing out issues seem to make for better content than that of offering answers. This is the problem I have with the current over consumption videos I’ve seen….however I have some solutions. 

Offer more to your viewers than what NOT to do: What ARE some ways that people can avoid buying too much? 

• Learning to mend, repair or customize torn or worn out clothing

• Making an inventory of items you already own to avoid repurchasing 

• Recycling glass or highly sustainable plastics (use them again!)

• Using supplies to their end (hitting pan, if you will) 

• Neighborhood exchanges: buying or gifting to your family and friends vs buying from a store. 

Recognize this: Everyone is a consumer…even those who produce the items

While buying more than what’s needed can be a problem, it’s best to be reminded that everyone who puts a dollar into big/small business is a consumer. That may be a very “duh” statement to make ,but the condescending tone that many of the over consumption videos take on is very distasteful and harmful to the point they’re trying to make. If the point of the video is to help resolve the issues of buying too much, there needs to be a change in attitude, otherwise your message won’t be heard the way it needs to be.

Collectors exist: just because you’re not one, doesn’t make it wrong

Not everyone who owns a large amount of items should be labeled as a hoarder. There’s a distinction between the two that should be made: Hoarding is a mental health condition that makes it difficult to part with things, even things that are harmful and unhealthy. A collector gathers and accumulates items based on personal interests, there’s usually a large sum of money and investment put into them, some are sentimental, others are more for the sake of resell value. I ask that when making videos that include footage of a persons items, you know what you’re actually looking at vs going off of a personal bias to people who shop a lot. 

Be willing to explore the “Why” of over consumption 

Venture into the behavior of those who lived during the Great Depression. There’s a video that further elaborates on this, there’s a YouTuber named Nicole Rudolph who does a wonderful deep dive into the culture of consumption titled: “Do we have too much stuff now?” go give that video a look and really ask yourself. “Why do people feel the need to buy so many things?” It’s important to understand that there’s a reason for everything…and learning more about the history of consumerism will offer more to your audience. 

Please know, 

I’m not a social media expert, I’m not a content creator nor an influencer but I AM a people person, and I understand people enough to know that they don’t like to be harshly criticized without being offered an alternative to their actions/behaviors, PLUS there’s a way to talk to people and what I’m seeing, isn’t it. A little compassion goes a long way and it wouldn't hurt us to be a little more willing to understand people through a human lens rather than through our screens.

"For the love of life and the pursuit of the arts, stay prayerful and write on!"