High school is for figuring out who you are. What your likes and dislikes are, what your hobbies are, who your friends are, what you want to study. Are you a classic jock or a scrawny nerd? Do you skateboard or are you a part of art club?  

These types of defined teenage social structures have existed for as long as high school has. Only now, with apps like TikTok and Pinterest reigning supreme, who you are isn’t about who you’re friends with or what clique you’re in. Our identities have increasingly started to revolve around what we buy. Are you ‘preppy’, decked in Lululemon and Drunk Elephant? Or perhaps you’re more ‘alt’, brandishing a new record player and Dr. Martens?

Every day we scroll more and more through our phones, playing victim to a new era of marketing strategies. Besides obvious ads in the form of “TikTok Shop” and links to websites, the sudden outburst of influencers in the past couple of years has given corporations a new way to promote their products. Do you want to achieve that ‘clean girl aesthetic’ you see all over your feed? You NEED this serum. Trying to start going to the gym? Not without this $90 workout set that’s an ABSOLUTE MUST. 

Apart from the environmental effects of overconsumption, this new wave of marketing has an overwhelming influence on the lives of teenagers. Ask any high school student, and they’ll probably tell you that they’re active on social media. And when you pair the identity crisis that every teenager goes through with the idea of attaining a certain lifestyle through purchasing specific products, it’s no surprise that many of us fall victim to forever trying to consume our way into that lifestyle. Companies take advantage of audiences watching the idealistic lifestyles of content creators by providing an in to that luxury. 

The truth is that buying all the products in the world won’t make you into someone you’re not or help you find out who you are. It’s important to realize that content isn’t truly representative of someone’s lifestyle, and though it might seem like you can buy your way into a perfect life, it’ll always leave you wanting more.