Many elements of what people consider to be “living slowly” are connected back to pre-technology life, reflecting a collective yearning for offline simplicity. However — like other escapist trends (like cottagecore and coastal grandmother-core) that it has risen in conjunction with — it’s gone from being a helpful lifestyle change to an extremely online aesthetic.
This article really drives home to me how social media is so inauthentic that it can turn even a very personal, intentional, and counter-cultural movement like simple/slow living into an aesthetic, a performative hollow shell of its true meaning. I personally shudder at the idea of setting up a scene in my home for a photo to prove to others how “in the moment” I’m being — that feels inherently like not living in the moment.
I am very glad I do not use TikTok, Instagram, or any other media-focused website.
Reading the article and reflecting on online spaces I’ve visited, I think it reaches a good conclusion but stopped just short of saying it out loud: anti-consumerism is an inherently rebellious stance and the whole point of aestheticizing simple living is to make it consumable, thereby negating any possible opposition. Even the point of
is simply the perpetuation of the consumerist status quo, it’s no different from “celebrity culture”, the topic changes but the structure and the goal is still the same. It’s the same with minimalism and minimalist furniture and aesthetics; with zero waste and/or plastic-free living and greenwashing, and the list goes on. Perhaps decluttering hasn’t been taken yet? Although I see it more as an action to reach a more specific goal, so at least for me it’s somewhat different. But I sadly wouldn’t be surprised if someone has find a way to making the activity of decluttering an object of consumerism.