Browsing: consumerism

When TikTok Shop came around, advertisements masquerading as regular videos became even more common. Not only that, but the same products would be advertised again and again in an attempt to pressure users into purchasing via the platform.

When Gen Z girls were kids, we ran around Justice or bought every scent of Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer. Meanwhile, boys wore those Nike socks with the black line on the back. All was right in the world. So, why are kids trying to become adults when all of us are scraping for our last bits of childhood?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … for retailers. This Black Friday, consumers are expected to spend $148 billion on in-store and online purchases. Everyone loves Black Friday — standing in hour-long lines for a 50% discount, getting your workout in while walking through the mall and leaving with 12 bags of new outfits at 3 a.m. But are you really going to use all those appliances and wear all those clothes?

An old cliché goes the clothes make the man, and according to Dr. Paul Martens, perhaps it’s time to rethink this statement.

“Everyone attempts to say something with their clothes,” said Martens, a Baylor religion professor. In his lecture Thursday, “You Are What You Wear,” he encouraged students to think about where their clothing comes from and how to rethink society’s obsession with clothes.