The Root Cause
The phenomenon of prosperity has now been altering the lifestyle of the masses for generations, arguably for the worse. The common perception that humans must be forever-consuming is only exacerbated by the growing access to social media with over 5.17bn users on July 24 (SocialPilot). Sites such as Instagram provide ample opportunity to boast an extravagant lifestyle, encouraging consumers to spend recklessly on luxury goods to impress their followers.
Amongst times of economic uncertainty in the UK, it is frankly concerning that some citizens continue to spend such high proportions of their incomes on unnecessary goods and services. This fact highlights my greatest concern about this concept, as many continue to prioritise discretionary items over household staples which would ensure a healthy diet and lifestyle.
More recently released applications such as BeReal further encourage consistent consumption of luxury items via the nature of the posting mechanism. The app sees a daily notification sent, asking users to share photos of themselves and their day-to-day life with friends within a randomly selected two-minute period. This further promotes the idea that users should always ensure their life is engaging, as many would shy away from posting a mundane selfie.
The COVID-19 pandemic naturally provided many with great amounts of free time, leading to the uptake of new pastimes, often incurring a high monetary input. A survey via Kantar would suggest the number of UK residents spending over £500 on gym equipment in 2020 was nearly four times that of 2019’s figure. This dramatic increase was mirrored in the sales of other active and well-being related goods, a sector that heavily trended throughout the pandemic.
Optimism for Change?
It is clear that social media is largely to blame for this, and as the digital divide continues to narrow, from a global perspective, it would be easy to take a pessimistic view on the matter. However, within the UK, the debate is continuous over suggestions that social media should be banned, an argument recently strengthened after its involvement in the organisation of riots that occurred earlier in the year.
Despite ongoing discussions surrounding this topic within UK Parliament, I personally doubt a nationwide ban on social media would ever come to fruition. Conversely, I believe that restricting social media for those under 18 is a much more feasible idea, one which may put an end to the bad practice of unnecessarily spending on luxury goods being drilled into humans of a young age. Recent bans on mobile phone usage in schools look to have made an initial positive impact within the classroom, however, it will be an impossible task to stop usage fully.
