NEW YORK: A number of TikTok users are using their platforms to advise people what not to buy in place of the latest products that consumers are constantly being bombarded with by so-called social media influencers.

The "de-influencing" trend stands in stark contrast to earlier ones like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, where users displayed the goods they had bought after seeing them on the social media app.

These days, TikTokers advise their followers to avoid buying certain products or to refrain from following trends. Influencers are complaining about blushes, mascaras, and other cosmetic and skincare products that made lofty claims but fell short. Others are advising their followers to stay away from the water bottles and hair straighteners that TikTok itself helped popularize.

Although one of the first TikTok videos came from a former employee of Ulta and Sephora, who listed frequently-returned products at the beauty stores, it is unclear how the trend got started. It's encouraging to see consumers finally having this conversation, according to 33-year-old Paige Pritchard.

Pritchard said she made her career choice after spending her entire $60,000 salary on clothing, beauty, and hair products in the first year following her graduation from college. She is now a spending coach who offers financial guidance on TikTok.

Pritchard was living with her parents at the time in order to help pay off her student loans. But she frequently visited Nordstrom or J. Crew after taking advice from YouTube influencers who are frequently paid by brands to promote their products.

“When it came time to move out, I realized that I had no money,” Pritchard said.

Estefany Teran, 23, claimed that her sister-in-declaration law's that she desired a Stanley cup—a well-known 40-ounce drinking tumbler that recently went viral on TikTok—inspired her to create her "de-influencing" video. But there was no more of it. Teran recalled that she told him, "You can just go to TJ Maxx and get a different cup."
Consumerism criticisms are not necessarily new, and TikTok trends come and go. Yet, according to Abhishek Kunar, a marketing lecturer at the University of Essex who has examined how Gen Z interacts with content creators, influencers who join the de-influencing trend may be perceived as more trustworthy and use the chance to boost credibility.

A lot of influencers make a living by creating content, frequently in partnership with brands. The number of people conducting product searches on social media has increased by 43% since 2015, according to a recent study by audience research firm GWI. TikTok is relatively new to influencing consumer behavior when compared to other platforms with a high influencer presence, like Instagram and YouTube. But popularity has boosted sales of a variety of goods, including books by Texas-based author Colleen Hoover and items that claim to produce "dolphin skin," or skin that is glistening and plump.

According to data from the market research firm NPD Group, TikTok had a bigger impact on consumer decisions to buy skincare and fragrance products in particular last year compared to 2021.
De-influencing, like influencing, originated in an authentic place.

For instance, Alyssastephanie, a well-known TikToker user, lists some of the products mentioned in her anti-influence videos on her Amazon Storefront, which is a customized page on the e-commerce website where influencers can earn money from sales made using affiliate links.

Valeriafride, a TikToker whose anti-influence video received over a million views, also has a list of recommendations on her Storefront. In her video, Fride advises viewers not to purchase everything that is mentioned.

A storefront makes it simpler for viewers to find items mentioned in a clip, according to TikToker user Alyssastephanie in an email. Mandy Lee, a fashion critic and freelance writer, said she would be skeptical of any influencer who is participating in this conversation for the first time because it is a trend. Mandy posted a TikTok video supporting the anti-consumption trend.

Lee, a Brooklyn, New York resident who also works as a consultant to businesses on fashion trends, said, "It's hard for me to trust someone who has never done a nuanced take about products before, and suddenly they're doing it now."