Overconsumption: The Environmental Cost of Social Media

Hauls after hauls//Normalizing the action of buying mass amounts of items affects audiences, prompting them to do the same. As time goes on, it only adds more to the landfills, harming our environment further. (Photo by Caleigh Burns)

Today, we live in a world where social media is everywhere, and influencers puppeteer their audience to maximize their popularity and profit. They idealize the products they are paid to promote and normalize spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars shopping. All of these things are not normal, and having the same water bottle or item of clothing in 3 different colors shouldn’t be deemed okay. They can only be used so much before they are often shipped out to third-world countries, stacking up–pile after pile–on a large landfill.

So, where does it start? Well, when influencers start gaining viewers, brands tend to send their products to influencers so they can promote their items. However, there are millions of brands around the world that want their products to be seen. Additionally, according to Stack Influence, around 86% of U.S. marketers plan to partner with influencers in 2025, highlighting how mainstream this strategy has become. We see that especially big influencers tend to get promotion after promotion, leading their followers to “join the club” and grab their newest product advertised. 

Additionally, these brand ambassadors go shopping frequently, as it creates more content for them. With this, they do clothing hauls, and the video always seems to start with 10 different bags sprawled across their arms, overflowing with different items. As these videos are made so frequently, it gives the impression to their audience that it’s okay to buy that many things, even in one go. It influences their audience to buy mass amounts of clothes, shoes, accessories and more as well, in turn, leading to overconsumption.

“When I see these videos, it makes me want to go shopping and get the item too,” junior Sophie Bendlin explains. “I get FOMO (fear of missing out) when I see influencers have cool things that I don’t have.”

Part of the reason this cycle works so well is because influencers feel relatable. When viewers watch someone around their age or someone they look up to doing hauls, “unboxings,” or wearing the same trending items, it creates a sense of belonging and pressure to keep up. Algorithms also amplify these videos, meaning people see them over and over again until buying feels normal, even expected.

“When I see influencers buy things like clothing items that I think are cute, it makes me want to buy them too,” sophomore Anni Mollinedo said. “Also, when I see things like skincare on my feed and see a variety of influencers say that it’s good and it works, it makes me want to buy it because, according to them, it works.”

What many people don’t see is what happens behind the scenes. Fast fashion factories often rely on underpaid labor, and producing endless clothing requires massive amounts of water, chemicals, and energy. When trends change every two weeks, those barely-worn items contribute to the millions of tons of textile waste the U.S. sends overseas each year.

“I used to shop fast fashion more often, but ever since I found out what goes into it, I’ve stopped,”  junior Ava Carter shared.

What many people don’t see is what happens behind the scenes. Fast fashion factories often rely on underpaid labor, and producing endless clothing requires massive amounts of water, chemicals, and energy. When trends change every two weeks, those barely-worn items contribute to the millions of tons of textile waste the U.S. sends overseas each year.

At the end of the day, influencer culture has made overconsumption feel effortless, even glamorous. But every trending water bottle, haul, or “must-have” item has a cost far beyond the price tag. Eventually, these things end up in landfills, not in our everyday lives. So the question becomes: do we keep buying into the cycle, or do we start choosing what truly matters?