By Miriam McPhail

Staff Writer

    When Starbucks released its holiday collection this past November, one item from the collection immediately captured people’s attention: the “Bearista” cup. The bear-shaped cup quickly went viral after its announcement, causing a Bearista cup sensation. On November 6th, customers in locations across the country waited outside for hours, accused employees of hiding merchandise, and even fought one another to get their hands on one of the limited edition items. The Bearista cup sold out almost immediately, but the frenzy continued on social media, with many cups now being resold for over a thousand dollars. 

    This instance was one of many, such as Stanley tumblers and Labubus, that follow a similar pattern: a new or limited item is announced, it blows up on social media, and people clamor over the chance to buy one. But why?

    At the center of this phenomenon is the scarcity and the fear of missing out, also known as FOMO. When something is in limited supply, it becomes more desirable because it signals exclusivity. All of this is particularly effective on social media because of its scope and constant messaging. Brands can create a sense of urgency through limited edition releases, seasonal sales, etc. 

    The FOMO tactic has more repercussions than just encouraging compulsive shopping, though. It breeds insecurity. People are no longer displaying their lives and possessions just to the people around them, but to the whole world, leading to social comparison and low self-esteem. 

    “I think there is some money dysmorphia,” Hampden Kenan, an economics and personal finance teacher at R.J. Reynolds High School, said. “They tend to only see the highlight reels, and they don’t know what goes into why people have what they have.” 

    From its very foundation, social media is intertwined with advertising rather than only social connections. Algorithms are built on the lens of consumption, promoting both products and people as commodities.

    “The platform’s [Pinterest’s] search and discovery features help users find specific ideas and products, making it a powerful tool for driving traffic to retail websites,” Kate Hardcastle said in a recent article published by Forbes.

    However, scrolling on social media is not just window shopping; it’s like window shopping for an identity. The feelings of inadequacy that come from social comparison leave consumers vulnerable to advertising. When an aspirational influencer appears with a product, it promises the lifestyle that comes with it and offers a “solution” to users’ insecurities. Cultural critic Robert Horning describes this as an “acquisitive appetite.” 

    “[Social media] is geared to satisfying the acquisitive appetite for images nurtured by what consumerism has taught us to read out of images – various characteristics and attributes and traits that we seek to embody ourselves,” Horning said.  

    With the ever-increasing speed of trend cycles and people to compare themselves with online, users are doomed to never feel fully satisfied. There is always something to change, and always something that can be bought to do so.

    “So much today is built on selling to you,” Kenan said. “The algorithms are built to force you down these lines and make decisions to spend your money. You have to go somewhere that’s not in the business of selling.”