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Okay, so I recently decided to start shopping less.
I really plan to start buying investment pieces of clothing rather than shopping every possible trend I see in store. I mean, it’s impossible to keep up! And why keep up in the first place? If we all bought all the trends, we would all look exactly the same: copy-pasted.
Why not rather save up for that luxe, great quality jersey from Country Road, instead of buying three average ones that fall apart after just two washes?
I believe in quality over quantity – or at least I do now, now that I’ve realised that I can hardly close my closet; and after years of wasting too much of my time in malls.
Consumer culture, has plainly, become quite sickly. I find it quite disgusting at times. The more we have, the more we want. And it’s just never enough.
And so, I’ve come to realise that there are a lot of parallels between our relationship with material possessions and the relationships we have with people on Facebook. They are often very superficial; and we tend to opt for quantity over quality.
We sit there with binoculars, silently observing the lives of our Facebook "friends" from a distance – almost like we’re on safari in the Kruger.
We might "like" their debaucherous bachelorette album, but other than that we hardly ever interact. Yet, we still jump at the chance to accept another friend request from some rando.
So, what happens? We end up neglecting the few really good friends we have as we get caught up in browsing people’s lives we actually care very little about.
We write "Happy Birthday" on someone’s wall instead of calling them or we stalk their profile (I have never done this, of course) instead of talking to them in public. I’ve even liked people’s pictures who blank me in public. Shame on me!
We know so much about each other’s lives, yet so little. It’s like a friggin’ soapie. Everyone thinks they know everyone else’s business.
We judge their choices (fashion and otherwise) and we mimic already-copied behaviours. Just as in fashion, we try to live up to and compare ourselves to the seemingly fabulous lives of others and so we aspire to certain things because others are doing it.
In the end we are basically shopping, buying into the idea of this “friend” we have on Facebook; just like we buy into the idea that owning all the trends will make us somehow more worthy. It’s not real.
My solution? Clean out your closet: clothing and Facebook friends wise. So start deleting. I have already started, and it’s actually freeing - and kind of fun.
I plan to invest in those who invest in me. Buy those pieces of clothing that make you feel like a million bucks instead of like another copy; and stop waiting for that good “friend” to reply to your Facebook birthday event invitation.
It’s never gonna happen.
Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the size of your closet or Facebook friends list? Tell us about it we'll send you a Women24 T-shirt!
