I’d like to say that I’m a proud member of The Great I Haven’t Economy™ — “owning zero Labubus, consuming zero matchas, having zero dating profiles, eating zero Dubai Chocolates, owning zero Stanley Cups” — but more likely I’m just old.
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What does having a dating profile have to do with any of this? The rest of these seem like status symbols, but being on dating sites is sort of the opposite of flaunting status— or at least feels like it a lot of the time.
Any pronouncement that I don't consume a popular thing makes me feel like I'm "Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television."
I thought the same thing when I read this.
I was thinking recently about how not using Instagram is the modern-day equivalent of not owning a TV. The motivations are similar (threats to attention span, waste of time, distrust of commercial influence on content, aversion to advertising) as are the tradeoffs (feeling out of touch with mass / pop culture)
I always find it interesting that criticism of overconsumption is always directed at things that women like (labubus, matcha), rather than typically male collections/hobbies (sneakers, cars, action figures, cameras, coffee accessories, etc.)
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