How Gen Z brings mindfulness online

All over social media, two new trends are rising: de-influencing and a new spin on New Year’s resolutions called In’s and Out’s list. These trends are spreading rapidly on everyone’s “for you” pages. And for a good reason—ultimately, both trends promote a conscious and intentional approach to our daily lives. Let’s dive into them.

Decluttering

In this time full of social media consumerism, it is important to ask yourself what you need or want in your life. We often repeat: “Do I really need this?”. De-influencing intends to discourage the purchase of products that influencers have unfairly overhyped. This push for mindful consumption works as decluttering and is, in nature, eco-friendly. A way to recover our autonomy while striving away from materialistic overconsumption.
Similarly, the in’s and out’s lists promote self-awareness, introspection, and being kind to oneself. So, both are important for us Gen Z, who choose a conscious way of living for ourselves, the people around us, and even the planet.

Listing useless things

Even a brief look into what the Internet is talking about easily shows that Gen Z is progressively more interested in a conscious way of living. Whether it's for the good of one (following a nutritious diet) or many (reducing waste), the younger generation values awareness. Both trends fall under the same category of mindful practices and therefore easily captivate the minds–and the for-you-pages–of many.
What do we think about them? We’re glad you asked! The rise of de-influencing gives Gen Z a chance to redeem themselves–a generation that is defined by overconsumption is now taking it to social media to share long lists of reasons why some things are simply not necessary, if not useless. Therefore, we can’t help but fully support the movement; at the end of the day, no one REALLY needs eight lip oils.

Guilt-free and realistic

In’s and out’s also get a stamp of our approval. We’d say that it is a great way of going into a new year guilt-free and realistic, compared to the good old resolution lists. While the latter focuses on the results and outcomes, the former aims its attention at the ways of getting there, while also maintaining peace and rejecting anything that disturbs it. Some include “saying no” and “early bedtimes”, some wish to leave out “uncomfortable bras” and “underdressing”, but most importantly, most of them are comforting in their simplicity, which earns this trend a strong A+ in our eyes.

“Casually adding “more [insert brand name] body scrubs'' in your in’s and out’s list will hardly come off as authentic”

A friendly reminder

What we would still like to point out is that regardless of these trends’ pure intentions, the Internet finds a way to monetize everything. Therefore, some will stumble upon a video or two where influencers use de-influencing tactics or in-and-out lists to promote a certain product. Although it is always a smart choice to utilize current trends in one’s marketing strategy, these two are not a good fit for product placements considering the messages they convey; casually adding “more [insert brand name] body scrubs'' in your in’s and out’s list will hardly come off as authentic, let alone including promo in your de-influencing rant. To sum it all up, de-influencing is a friendly reminder to think twice about making a purchase.

The new luxury

Gen Z is trying to be more mindful of what they are consuming and if it is necessary for improving their life, whether it’s a makeup tool or negative self-talk. These trends are a step in the right direction. This approach not only reduces impact on the planet but also improves emotional well-being. We think that the message of both trends is that being aware is the new luxury.

All in all, it can be difficult to stay on top of everything Gen Z cares about. Not to us though (I mean, we’re called Trend Cult for a reason). So, if there’s anything you’d like our team to dive into and cover in the next FONK issue – feel free to reach out. See ya next month!

Yours truly, Trend Cult.
 

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