Jocelyn - Week 5: From Trends to "Purchase Now"

Valley Fair Mall (Image Credits)

With Cyber Monday and Black Friday approaching in a month, I would like to take the time to discuss the growing problem of overconsumption in America. Overconsumption mostly stems from America’s capitalist society. After World War II, as the country emerged from the Great Depression, they needed people to start purchasing many goods to keep the economy in a good place. This is when mass consumerism began to be promoted more heavily. Businesses started to realize that in order to keep selling their products, they needed trends to cause some things to grow in popularity and other products start to go out of style.

This constant cycle of trends fuels the overconsumption in America, but is also what fuels the economy. Without trends shifting from Hydro Flasks to Stanleys to Owalas, people would not spend as much money and therefore, not as much money would be exchanged. It seems that every month (or even week sometimes!), there is a new trend that promotes consumerism. From the limited edition Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, from this summer, to the newest iPhone 18 and iPhone Duo, these “new” products entice people to consume more and spend their money. With Amazon, this process has become incredibly streamlined; you can purchase things from the comfort of your bed and have them delivered directly to your door! In addition, social media has also become a new way of advertising products in the place where most people spend their free time. In this way, advertising is getting more prevalent in Americans’ daily lives and encourages people to continue consuming.

Comments

  1. Palash DesaiOctober 24, 2026 at 12:35 PM

    I thought the way you were able to connect Black Friday and Cyber Monday to the larger issue of overconsumption was really interesting, considering how normalized these shopping events have become in American culture. The additional examples of HydroFlasks, Stanleys, and Owalas were really effective to show how something even as ordinary as a water bottle can become a constantly changing trend. The way you explained that these trends are not due to necessity but rather desire to have what people like made me realize how our purchasing decisions can so easily be influenced by those around us.

    Your discussion of social media also stood out to me because it has caused the distinction between entertainment and advertisement hard to recognize. Sometimes, when I am scrolling on Instagram or TikTok, I see reels that suggest the use of a particular product so casually that it does not feel like advertisement at all. I wonder if such mixtures of entertainment and advertisement were not a thing on social media, would people still be this attracted to such products?

    I recognized how this blog and your last blog explore how technology can influence our daily decisions, often without us conscious of these effects. I also found the relationship you established between overconsumption and economic growth. We are used to associating such excessive spending as irresponsible and something negative, yet this cycle that has been created contributes positively to economic activity, which is what the country wants. Your blog made me consider the impact of how deeply consumerism is engrained in American society.

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  2. Rukmini A.October 25, 2026 at 1:26 PM

    Hello Jocelyn, I enjoyed your observation on capitalism in America. Honestly, I was a bit confused when I saw a picture of Valley Fair Mall, but I think it is an excellent visual example of your point. I never realized how connected American society and consumerism is, until you brought up the Great Depression. I suppose, while our free market remains extremely valuable, the societal effects it has is more negative than positive.

    I am quite guilty of using Amazon frequently. In fact, it’s ironic, because just before I read your blog, I received a bunch of stuff I ordered from Amazon, and had just gone to Ross for clothes. I suppose, while shopping becomes easier, it becomes more mindless, and it is much easier to buy things we don’t really need. As much as I love retail therapy, you make a good point about how it’s simply a cycle of buying things that go in and out of style.

    While you frequently talk about personal experiences, I appreciated how you are concise in your informational pieces of writing. I enjoyed the way you explained the concept with recent examples that spoke for themselves. While I may not have bought the Unicorn Frappuccino, I definitely have to stay off Amazon for a bit! Overall, while informative writing often causes people to lose their voice in the midst of facts and history, you kept your fun, optimistic writing voice with parenthetical remarks and exclamation points throughout!

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  3. Julia H.October 26, 2026 at 5:46 PM

    Jocelyn, I enjoyed your analysis of how overtime, Americans have an increasing tendency to buy what is on trend which leads to overconsumption. With America’s capitalist society, businesses are fighting against their competitors in order to gain profit.

    I thought it was interesting that you included specific real life examples of trends like Stanleys or Owalas to help picture how sometimes people buy things that are trend relevant. Or, other marketing examples of things being “limited edition” or an upgrade on already popular products like the newest “iPhone 18.” Having the latest or getting what is popular at the moment is a marketing strategy that leads to overconsumption.

    I noticed that you connected the idea of American capitalism to brand marketing and back to how Americans consume things that are “prevalent.” The way you explained it from each step helped me understand it clearly. It leads me to wonder what will be the next advertising style that these companies will come up with next.

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  4. Francesca MacapagalOctober 28, 2026 at 8:38 PM

    Hi Jocelyn! This blog addressed a problem that a lot of us participate in, and I think that it’s really important to speak out about stuff like this. Before reading this blog, I didn’t know that overconsumption traced all the way back to the Great Depression. I assumed that it had to do with hoarding being human nature, so I was really surprised to hear that businesses encouraged it.

    I liked how you included an example of a trend that causes people to overconsume: water bottles. I’ve always thought it was strange that people needed to buy new water bottles every year when they don’t even wear out easily. Setting an example of the trend that you’re describing helps illustrate the problem better because people recognize it from their day to day lives—maybe even in themselves.

    Overall, I really like how your blog promotes accountability while establishing the historical reasons behind overconsumption. I think having some kind of call to action at the end would be pretty impactful–only if you were going for something like that, of course.

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