Social media trends constantly shift, change and adapt to pull viewers in, with each video seeming more outrageous than the last. This can be seen most prominently through the rise of shopping videos, most commonly known as hauls.
Hauls are social media videos displaying the different products an influencer bought during a shopping trip. Everything from clothes and makeup products to groceries and toiletries can be considered “hauls” to be posted and profited from.
According to Checkpoint, the rise of haul culture is part of a “consumerist movement” that has “steadily turned toxic, with content creators placing increasingly large orders more frequently to stand out.”
This creates unrealistic expectations for viewers and is an overall waste of products due to many items being bought in excess, bought to be discarded or returned shortly after, especially in clothing.
“Haul culture is hugely damaging to the environment and normalizes rampant consumerism to a viewership who can’t necessarily afford to shop this way,” Checkpoint said, “and, as it turns out, some content creators can’t afford it either.”
Oftentimes, the clothing and products influencers post are worn or shown off once before being returned, creating a new strategy known as “staging.”
This can cause not only significant detrimental costs to companies but also the environment, with “e-commerce returns [contributing] up to 24 million metric tons of CO2 each year, making up 25% of total emissions,” Checkpoint said.
It’s not just the environment this trend is harming; haul culture also has a detrimental impact on teen mental health, creating insecurity and, in some cases, addiction.
According to Teen Vogue, “shopping does make people feel better; however, that joy is temporary.”
Chasing this dopamine rush or activating the “reward pathway” inevitably leads to higher stress levels and more and more need for impulse purchases to alleviate that stress.
“Fashion content and quick checkouts don’t just make it easier to buy more; they have enabled [consumers] to rationalize impulse purchases,” Teen Vogue said.
By rationalizing and promoting haul culture, overconsumption becomes normalized: restricting change and trapping individuals in cycles of impulse, addiction and financial and environmental strain.
However, there is still hope.
Across many social media platforms, a counter-culture fighting against the overconsumption of haul culture has taken root.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), many influencers have begun to spread “underconsumption core” and “conscious consumer” media.
“They share key messages, such as ‘fast fashion won’t make you stylish’ and ‘underconsumption is normal consumption,’” BBC said.
This turn away from haul culture will not completely fix the environmental strains caused by consumption as a whole, but it definitely is a good start.
