EVOLUTION OF THE T-SHIRT

Social media has changed the way consumers follow trends, and it has become easier for feelings of jealousy to enter when viewing someone else’s life on Instagram, because anyone is able to post exactly what they want followers to see. It’s harmful to the public when constantly trying to achieve these “perfect” lives that don’t exist. It is easy for people to forget that these social media star’s lives are perfectly curated to achieve a look. People rarely post about the bad or imperfect things in their lives, they want to seem like they have it all together! It is easier for ads to appeal to consumers in social media because they can make more realistic, personalized posts that they can relate to.

“The more pronounced the product placement, the more it is considered too ‘commercial’ by the followers of that social media influencer and the less effective it is likely to be,” according to Medium. Brands these days want their influencer-based advertising to be as subtle as possible, so they can make it seem like an authentic account of how people really feel about their products. Consumers and social media users need to be more aware that companies purposely appeal to emotion in product placement to lure purchases.

Humans feel instant gratification when they make an online purchase, but the feeling dissipates when they realize the product is most times not as spectacular as the advertisements portrayed it as. This instant gratification leads to a much bigger issue: overconsumption and waste. The environment has been a hot topic since our generation learned about our planet’s sad fate as climate change continues, but no one thinks about how much clothing and product waste contributes to carbon emissions. According to the World Bank, about 87% of the fiber input used in clothing is disposed of in landfills, making it responsible for 10% of annual carbon emissions. Companies are not going to stop pushing for unnecessary purchases, so we need to be more conscious of what we are buying and why, or the environment will continue to suffer from our faults.

While environmental issues are one of the biggest threats to all industries right now, the advertising industry has several other issues that are a threat to humanity. In regards to advertising, larger companies are able to easily target individual consumers using ad tracking and sometimes even eye tracking technology. Not only is this invasive but it allows the customer to be easily exploited, and increases consumerism. After seeing the same ad multiple times on different social media platforms, people are more likely to buy a product. Ad tracking softwares are relatively new, and there is so much that we do not know about them. We have no idea how companies might be exploiting our personal information.

Advertisements have been a part of consumerism for over two centuries now and it is not going away any time in the future. As advertising evolves into more personalized styles of inspiration and creativity, it becomes more dangerous in the way that consumers buy without truly needing or wanting the product. Consumers need to become more wary of whether or not their favorite influencers actually believe in the brand they are promoting, or if it’s just for the paycheck. Humans are far too overstimulated by these constant advertisements, and we learn to trust too easily, but research beyond the wellplaced ad can prevent overconsumption and result in more self-expression.