In one of Julie George’s most popular TikTok videos from this past summer, she highlights some of the quality items she owns and cherishes — a few nice pieces of jewelry, a single pair of Ray-Bans, a nearly empty bottle of YSL perfume. It feels luxe and aspirational, like so many popular influencer videos do. But George’s video is not an attempt to get you to buy the items she shows off, or a celebration of the new. It’s an example of a different sort of trend that’s been sweeping social media — 2024’s new take on minimalism: “underconsumption core.”
“I first came across underconsumption as a trend on TikTok earlier this summer, maybe in June or July, and I immediately was like, ‘Wow, I have never related to something on social media as much as I do this,” said George, a finance manager and podcaster based in Austin, Texas, whose account is described as “Life in my 30s.”
George has always been active on social media, she said, to promote various side hustles like her podcast and a previous stint as a fitness-and-nutrition coach. But she was always put off by influencer culture. “It’s terrible for the environmen... Read more
