Whether you think they’re cute or straight up creepy is up for debate. The Labubu, a Pop Mart toy that blew up on TikTok over the summer, is another example of the current generation’s overconsumption habits and obsession with online shopping trends. Even if many high schoolers don’t buy them, the hype has spread everywhere: resale markets, celebrity endorsements and millions of unboxing videos across all social media platforms.
The feeling of receiving a product like this one might be thrilling for some, but it challenges the current generation’s ability to remain frugal. Summit junior Nora Spitznagel doesn’t understand the appeal.
“I just find it funny how much people are willing to spend for something that they’re probably going to dislike in like a week,” said Spitznagel. “I think that since people want to be liked, they’ll go buy it even if they don’t even like it.”
The strange thing about these furry friends is that they’re advertised as limited, even though millions are produced every month. With prices reaching as high as $150,000 dollars, despite being made of inexpensive materials, it’s clear that the inflated prices aren’t justifiable.
Because social media and technology makes it exceedingly easy to purchase pointless items online, the younger generation cannot be blamed for being easily influenced into buying them. We see influencers, and even people we know buying or using trending products every single day, making us want to try the items out for ourselves and see if they are worth the hype. Catalog ads are easy to ignore, but influencer endorsements seem too obligatory to overlook. Younger generations as a whole have unprecedented access to social media, and as they scroll, products are being forced on them with every new video on their for-you page.
AP Language and Composition teacher Erin Carroll has first hand experience with this phenomenon. When her two children asked about purchasing Labubus, she researched through Reddit rabbit holes and spent two and a half hours on TikTok Live — resulting in a Labubu for each kid and one for her classroom named Agnes.
“I think fads and trends come and go and it’s silly to think that we won’t be consumed by them,” said Carroll. “But I do believe social media plays a huge part in overconsumption as a whole though, as we wouldn’t even be exposed to a lot of what we are buying or wanting if it wasn’t blasted over social media platforms.”
Even with every scroll serving a new desire, we are celebrated for individuality. That said, getting that most unique, expensive or popular item might be on every Summit students wish-list if we all share similar social pages.
According to AP Psychology teacher Emily Tompkins, getting the new things makes us feel accepted but also a little superior. This can be explained by a psychological phenomenon called the Hedonic Treadmill.
“Once we get more stuff, we quickly reset to a new baseline and then crave more, and the cycle repeats. It’s a short burst of dopamine that can’t be sustained on one item, whether it’s lipgloss, a toy or a car,” Tompkins explained.
Summit students should buy what makes them happy, and be able to bond over it. Whether one finds a product valuable or not is their choice. If someone really thinks a Labubu will make them happy then that’s worth something. Still, it’s important to remember that no amount of skin care products, lipgloss, trendy clothes or fuzzy Pop Mart toys will ever really define happiness, but instead demonstrate overconsumption as just another trend.
